The future on tour

While analysts say the Indian team is unlikely to win the series in Australia, the tour may give a few players the opportunity to emerge as next-generation stars

Before every cricket series, broadcaster Star Sports unleashes its promotional campaign but seldom gets the tagline right. For instance, just before the recently concluded India-Sri Lanka one-day series, hurriedly convened after the West Indies pulled out of the scheduled series, Star's campaign line read "World Champions vs World Champions". The fare on show did not justify the hyperbole, with Sri Lanka playing more like minnows than world champs. The network, however, may have got it right this time, calling the Indian visit to Australia "The Tour That Matters".

A tour of Australia is always special. England might be the home of cricket, but it's Australia where you separate the men from the boys. Tough conditions, intimidating crowds, beautiful stadiums and solid opposition make playing in Australia a nerve-wracking boot-camp experience. It isn't surprising that India have only won five Tests in 65 years of visiting Australia. This has been mainly due to a combination of factors - poor team selection and ordinary players, yes, but also due to Indians' inability to handle bouncy and fast pitches. The last time India went to Australia, between December 2011 and February 2012, they were handed a drubbing and ended up losing all four Tests. Can the current team buck the trend and perform respectably, perhaps even go a step forward and actually win the series?

Rohit Sharma

  "The selectors have picked a fairly balanced team," says former India wicket-keeper and selector Syed Kirmani, "but they have their task cut out." The team captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, will miss the first Test match in Brisbane starting on December 4 due to a thumb injury, and Virat Kohli will lead the side. Former Australian captain Ian Chappell, in a column on www.espncricinfo.com, writes that Dhoni's absence is a blessing in disguise for India: "His absence provides an opportunity to see what the future is likely to hold, with Kohli leading the side. Every captain has a use-by date, and my sense is that Dhoni has reached his in Tests. He has failed to ignite his side on three tours now - twice in England (apart from in the early stages in 2014) and last time around in Australia." Chappell's words may come across as harsh, but he makes a valid point. Dhoni's captaincy has come under the scanner and if India do lose this series, then it can potentially be his last series as Test captain.

"The key in Australia is to have a good start. For that you need solid openers," says former India batsman Praveen Amre. India have picked Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan as the two regular openers, with debutant K L Rahul as the third possibility. "Vijay is your reliable batsman who can handle the new ball well. Dhawan's form has been patchy, and he is still unsure about handling pace and bounce," says Amre. The middle-order picks itself with Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane. In Dhoni's absence, Wriddhiman Saha will don the keeper's gloves. However, apart from Dhoni and Kohli, none of these batsmen has any experience of playing in Australia. While the conditions will be different, it is still worth noting that Indian batsmen couldn't muster a total of above 300 in any innings in the last three Test matches against England this past summer.

Varun Aaron will find Australian pitches favourable

A lot of India's fortunes in the series will depend on how the batsmen handle the formidable pace attack of Australia, which includes Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle. "Winning the series will be extremely difficult as, apart from Pujara and Kohli, inconsistency plagues all Indian batsmen in Test matches," says Kirmani. One hope is Rahul. The 22-year-old from Karnataka scored 1,158 runs at an average of 52.63 in the 2013-14 first-class season. He also has some experience of playing in Australia as he was a part of the India A squad that went Down Under earlier this year.

Suresh Raina's inclusion has raised a few eyebrows as he last played a Test match for India in 2012. Raina has apparently been included on team director Ravi Shastri's insistence. Raina has played 17 Tests for India and scored just 768 runs at an average of 28.44. He presumably is not as crucial to India's fortunes as the others. "India need Pujara to be in top form because he is the one who can steady the ship," says Amre. Kohli, the irrepressible superstar, struggled badly in England and was found wanting against incoming deliveries.

In the bowling department, India has packed the squad with pacers. Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron will form the pace attack, and perhaps for the first time in years, India have bowlers who can bowl at speeds of above 140 kmph. "They aren't world beaters, but complement each other well," says Madan Lal, former India allrounder. Lal says that the biggest problem with the bowlers is they are extremely injury prone. "Can you trust them to last the entirety of this rigorous tour considering their injury record?" he asks.

In the warm-up game against Cricket Australia XI, the bowlers, led by Aaron, put in an impressive performance. Aaron took three wickets, while Kumar and Shami picked up two each. Kumar will be the strike bowler and will be touring on the back of an admirable performance in England where he got 19 wickets plus some useful runs. Sharma has experience and inconsistency almost in equal measures. The toss-up for the third spot in the line-up will be between Shami and Yadav, both of whom have similar styles and numbers. Both have played nine Test matches and have 32 wickets against their name. That you can't win a Test match without dismissing 20 batsmen may be a cliche but repeating it is unavoidable. But there's a sense of optimism today. "Injuries permitting, this is a decent bowling unit and should prove a handful in Australian conditions," says Kirmani brightly. Three bowlers - R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and debutant leg-spinner Karn Sharma - offer variety in the spin department. Ashwin, because of his superior batting ability, will most likely get the nod for the lone spinner's spot.

Winning the series in Australia will require heroic performances from the players, and not many are expecting India to win. Rahul Dravid has said that winning the series will be "extremely difficult." Former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath has even predicted a 4-0 whitewash for India.

The series will be interesting for other sub-plots too. For instance, with the 2015 World Cup starting just after the tour, people will be watching to see if India goes about the series with one eye on the defence of their world champion crown. And then, will Dhoni's reign as skipper come to an end with Kohli ready to take over? Importantly, will the tour finally see the making of Rohit Sharma as the mainstay of the Indian middle-order? As the Star Sports ad for the series says, it really is a tour that matters. By the time the fourth, and last, Test ends on January 7, the series could show us what the future of Indian cricket looks like.