When India played South Africa at home last winter, the image that first comes to my mind is that of a disappointed Washington Sundar, unable to digest the fact that his team is finding it hard to chase down 124, on home soil. Whatever happened in that series, in my opinion, India brought upon themselves. The writing was on the wall ever since the New Zealand whitewash in Nov ’24.
- The All-rounders problem: India played 3 all-rounders in their first test against South Africa. South Africa played just 2. I will admit, there’s something to be said about the “all-rounding” quality of Marco Jansen and, say, Nitish Kumar Reddy (India trying to manufacture an all-rounder from Nitish is a separate topic, for another day), but let’s consider them equal for now. No other nation plays these many all-rounders in a test match. Australia typically only plays 1. The fundamental problem here is that the selection committee refuses to see that one all-rounder, especially a sub-par one, cannot be a replacement for a specialized batsman and specialized bowler. Having 3 all-rounders robs the team of the skillset that a specialized batsman/bowler brings.
- Spin friendly surfaces: I have now lost count of the number of times India has produced a spin friendly wicket – only to have it completely backfire. I don’t think I can pin the blame completely on the selection committee for this one though, because South Africa’s spinner, Simon Harmer took a staggering 17 wickets in the series. And how many did India’s spinners take, combined? 21. That’s 4 wickets separating one man and an entire fucking group. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that India’s batsmen seem to have forgotten how to play spin. Rishabh Pant, although I am a fan of his game, goes one step further – he mixes in reckless shots from time to time.
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KL Rahul: Don’t get me wrong, big fan of the guy in other formats, but when we look at his test
performance in isolation, it’s easy to wonder “Wait, why is this guy in the team again?”
KL Rahul's Career Stats
The guy averages (much) more in ODIs for god’s sake. All that being said, you can’t fault Rahul on his technique, he is a joy to watch, when in form.