There was hardly any lack of intensity in India’s first training session ahead of the 1st Test at Rajkot. The bowlers were bowling at full tilt, Ishant Sharma was back in full flow; the new boys Hardik Pandya, Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav left no stone unturned in their drills as they geared up with others for an exciting 5-match Test series against England starting Wednesday.
“We have got just 4-5 days of rest after the completion of the New Zealand ODIs. It feels good that it is the start of a new Test series. We are playing a 5-match Test series after a long time in India. The preparations are going on in full swing,” head coach Anil Kumble said. While Kumble was happy preparations, he found it unfortunate for a few players missing out on a Test spot, namely Rohit Sharma.
“Obviously, we are a bit disappointed with some of the injuries but that is part and parcel of the game. I really feel sad for Rohit Sharma because he was doing really well in the Test format. It is unfortunate that he misses out of this series.”
India are coming off a Test and ODI series win against New Zealand and there are plenty of positive vibes in the team. Kumble was all praise for the side who had displayed immense character against New Zealand. “New Zealand was a very hard fought series. The score line may suggest a 3-0 win to us but we know how hard we had to work to win the series. We adapted well to the conditions and that is our strength.” Shifting focus to England he said, “We look at oppositions and then see what their strengths and weaknesses are but having said that, England has a quality side. Alastair Cook has been here on a number of occasions and is a quality player at the top. That is something that we will be looking at. Their batting and bowling line-up has troubled us in the past. What we would like to focus on is what we can do and how we can measure up to whatever we set out to do.”
Kumble also had no intentions of paying heed to past records and series results where England have had an upper hand. “You can look at history the way you want to. It is a totally different England team that is coming and it is a new Indian team that is playing against England. There have been some players who have played in the last series but this is a totally different series. For us, what is good is that we have been playing Test cricket regularly right from the West Indies tour. We have seen the development of the team in the last seven matches and it is healthy. The immediate performances matter and that is the confidence we would like to take into the series. Every player is looking forward to this 5-Test match series.”
As Kumble said, this is a completely new Indian setup. There is youth and confidence going hand in hand. Take for example a Hardik Pandya who has a spring in his stride since his Test call up. Kumble felt he blended perfectly into the team’s plans when it came to searching for the seam bowling all-rounder option. “Hardik is an extremely talented player. Even when he first came into the IPL, he showed what he was capable of. The shorter format is totally different but we have seen his potential; be it his bowling in Dharamsala or his batting in Delhi, we could see that he is a quality player. That is the reason we have backed him in this series as well. We understand the importance of an all-rounder and a fifth bowler. If someone can bowl at 140 kph and give you the option of batting lower down the order; that is a great option to have. We are really looking at how Hardik develops. We don’t want to put too much pressure on Hardik and want him to express himself. We will back him and he will only get better the more he plays.”
Much like Hardik, even Karun Nair received some words of praise from the coach. “Karun has done all the hard yards in domestic cricket scoring runs heavily and consistently. There was a little bit of a talk of him not performing for India ‘A’ in Australia but what we are looking at is consistency. That is why he was part of the squad against New Zealand as well. Since then he has got hundreds in the Ranji Trophy as well. With Rohit being injured, it has opened an opportunity for Karun. We still have to work out our combination but Karun is someone we have kept a close eye on and backed him for all the good things he has done in domestic cricket. I am sure he will get an opportunity and when he gets it, we will certainly back him to go and get the runs for India as well like how he has done for Karnataka.”
