England could prove to be a tough hill to climb for Gill's inexperienced side

For romantics among cricket fans, a tour of the national side to England to play a Test series is something to look forward to. The sight of cricketers clad in whites, often sporting a sweater, playing all day long on lush green grounds, makes a fascinating sight, whether viewed from the stands or through TV. The battles between bat and ball are evenly matched, with the batsmen pushed hard while trying to tackle the vagaries that the human arm can impart to the movement of the red cherries delivered from a distance of 22 yards.

England tours are invariably tough ones for visiting sides. Except during the 1980s, when the host country went through a bad phase, tourists never found it easy to win the Test series there. It took India close to 40 years after entering the world of Test cricket to win a match in this country. The fact that India could win only three series - in 1971, 1986 and 2007 - in the last 93 years, when the sides took on each other no less than 19 times in England, shows the difficulty in accomplishing the task.

Even during the last decade, when India started consistently winning away series, we found defeating England in their home conditions too steep a hill to conquer. No wonder that chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated, "It's going to be as tough as it gets in a five-match tour to England.”

Any side that fancies its chances of doing well in a tour to England should have a batting order that runs deep, an incisive bowling attack with bowlers capable of utilising the conditions, and an experienced skipper at the helm of affairs. This was the case on all three occasions when India won the Test series there. Hence, it would be interesting to see how the current squad announced on May 24 figures on these aspects.

The Rohit-Kohli void
There is no argument that Virat Kohli's and Rohit Sharma's retirements leave behind a big void in the Indian batting line-up. They had found it difficult to get going in England on their first visits, but they tightened their techniques and ironed out the shortcomings to come back stronger the next time around. Their experience will be sorely missed this time.

Only KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the current squad can boast of having played Test matches in England during the previous tours and scored centuries. However, Pant has been going through a lean patch with the bat, as seen from his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Shubman Gill’s experience of playing in England is limited to three Tests with 88 runs, while Yashasvi Jaiswal has yet to play a Test against the Three Lions. Karun Nair toured England with the national side in 2018 but did not find a place in the playing eleven. Abhimanyu Eswaran and Sai Sudarshan are yet to make their debuts in the long format. Thus, it can be seen that the side lacks experience in batting. 

The only silver lining is the presence of four all-rounders, all capable of getting useful runs in the lower middle order. Ravindra Jadeja has experience playing in England and even boasts of a century under his belt in a Test. Nitish Kumar Reddy was one of the few success stories from the recent tour to Australia, as he came good with the bat on numerous occasions. Washington Sundar, too, has earned a reputation as a gutsy performer with the willow. Even Shardul Thakur, who is yet to make it big with the bat in Tests, puts a high price on his wicket.

The side is heavily dependent on Jasprit Bumrah for bowling. He shouldered the burden of leading the attack during the series against Australia, but the long spells led to a breakdown, from which he took close to four months to recover. His workload should be restricted to ensure he continues playing for many more years.

His fitness will, in turn, place more responsibility on the other bowlers in the squad to come good and chip in with wickets. However, the support cast of pace bowlers, with the sole exception of Mohammed Siraj, also suffers from a lack of experience. Mohammed Shami's absence will be severely felt. The pacer was not selected after he failed to regain fitness to handle the Test match workload following an ankle surgery.

Though the win in 1971 was fashioned by a magnificent spell of bowling by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, spin bowlers have not been, as a rule, match-winners for India in England. The present squad has two experienced spinners in its ranks- Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, with the latter repeatedly showing that he can produce unplayable deliveries. This series gives him the best opportunity to showcase his abilities as a match-winner in Tests. He has improved by leaps and bounds since he entered the international arena, and it is time he cemented his position on the side as a frontline bowler.

Gill for the top job
This brings one to the issue of captaincy. After Rohit stepped down, there were four contenders for the top job - Bumrah, Rahul, Pant and Gill. On the few occasions he was pressed into this role, Bumrah had led the side with poise and elan and even registered a win in the first Test of the last series in Australia. But the threat of injury and the overwhelming need to give him adequate rest would have made the selectors decide against giving him this task. Rahul showed the makings of a capable leader when he was entrusted with this responsibility, but at 33, age might have gone against him. Pant is definitely the most exciting talent to emerge from the country in recent years, but he continues to be haunted by the residual effects of the life-threatening injury he suffered a couple of years ago. His poor run with the bat in the IPL and inability to post tall scores in Australia are manifestations of this issue. Hence, it will not be wise to burden him with captaincy at this juncture.

Thus, Gill was elevated to captaincy more by default than through past experience in this job or any extraordinary flair he has shown towards the task. It is true that he marshalled the resources of the Gujarat Titans capably during the current edition of IPL, but the fact remains that leading the national side in a Test series is a much more daunting and difficult challenge than leading a franchise in a T20 championship.

As detailed in the preceding paragraphs, the side is rendered weaker than before in both batting and bowling departments, so this series will likely turn out to be a baptism by fire for him. For the record, in the 78-year history of Indian cricket after the country won independence, only DK Gaekwad (in 1959) has led India in a test series in England without prior experience as captain of the national side. This shows the importance of past experience when the captain is chosen for the side touring England.

History teaches us that the Indian public does not sympathise with captains who lose Test series by huge margins. Even titans like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar had to face the ire and disappointment of the Indian cricket followers after poor performances of the national side under their stewardship. Times may have changed, but the fickle-minded approach of the average cricket fan in the country still remains in place. Gill will also need to develop a teflon-like skin to absorb the barbs and criticism that await him, as well as any setback that his side suffers.

No surprises in selection
Finally, a word about the selection of the squad. There were no surprises except for Karun Nair getting back to the side after a span of seven years solely on the weight of the runs scored in the domestic first-class circuit. As has been the practice during the last couple of decades, the selection committee has ignored top run-getters in the domestic circuit.

No reasons have been given for the dropping of Sarfaraz Khan, a squad member who toured Australia, or the non-consideration of Devdutt Padikkal, who played one Test in the series Down Under. A thought could have been spared for including Ajinkya Rahane, whose past experience playing in England could have proved valuable for the side.   

At 25, Gill is the fifth youngest person appointed to lead India in Tests. This is a great honour for this stylish top-order batsman, who has been the epitome of correctness and propriety, both on and off the field, in his career to date. He needs the good wishes and prayers of all followers of Indian cricket, within and outside the country, to successfully tackle the challenges that await him in this new assignment. Here is wishing good luck and success to captain Shubman Gill and the national side as they embark on their tour to England.