England vs India 2018: 3 questions that need to be answered by India

This was the best possible opportunity for India to come to England and beat them, such was the build-up and hype prior to the start of the series. And that was justified as the same team despite losing the series against the Proteas, showed enormous grit, determination and courage to win the last test at Johannesburg on a very tricky surface.

Everyone was certain looking at India’s recent form in overseas conditions combined with the fact that this English side was not the strongest to face off against India meant a close series was expected in terms of results. But the results in this test series speak for themselves leaving more answers than questions.

On paper, India’s team have players who have far more skill and potential than their English counterparts. But a combination of many factors and some outstanding cricket from England leaves India wondering what they must do to succeed overseas.

With India scheduled to tour Australia later this year, after watching and analysing their performances in the test series against England, here are some questions that needs to be answered if India can be a force to reckon with in overseas conditions:

Kohli being India's lone warrior throughout the series

This is the question everyone seems to be asking after India’s 1-4 series defeat against England. Why was a team that had established, equipped batsmen like Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane struggle to provide even a semblance of confidence and consistency through the series?

The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and KL Rahul had their moments of individual brilliance but the very fact that as a team they were unable to provide the support to their skipper Virat Kohli is a big cause for concern. The bigger issue has to be lack of temperament and resolve shown by most batsman.

With England’s bowling heavily reliant on James Anderson and Stuart Broad, India’s batsmen needed to play and tire them out thereby making their other fast bowlers like Sam Curran, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes less threatening and easier to handle.

But India’s top and middle-order were far too inconsistent and lacked the technique and confidence in order to play out England’s fast bowling attack. The stark difference in the number of runs Virat Kohli scored in the series (593 runs at an average of 59.30) as to their next highest scorer, KL Rahul (299 runs at an average of 29.90) speaks for itself.

Keeping this in mind, is the current squad the best possible set of players that should represent India in the longest form of the game needs to be a point of discussion. What the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari showed in the last Test match is that they are willing to grind it out, bat for long time and wear out the bowlers - something most other batsmen apart from Virat Kohli failed to do on a regular basis.

Questionable selection during the course of the series

Murali Vijay wasn't treated well

Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri are known to be very vocal and open about selecting their team. They don’t hold back in supporting the players they back to deliver, irrespective of the player’s current form or confidence.

Murali Vijay has been India’s pillar at the top of the order over the past 15-18 months. Granted, he had a below-par Test series in England, but what message does it send to the other openers and aspiring openers for the Indian team when you see an experienced player like Vijay sent back to India after two poor games?

The team management should think about what damage that can cause to a player’s morale and self-confidence. Murali Vijay could have been retained in the squad and not selected in the playing XI which would have more sense.

And, the main reason for Shikhar Dhawan to get game after game despite his technical flaws is possibly the fact that he is a left-handed batsman. Shikhar Dhawan is extremely effective in batting friendly conditions, but on pitches that assist the bowlers, he sometimes looks like a fish out of water.

If the team management wanted a left hand-right hand opening combination shouldn’t they have they pushed Rishabh Pant to open the innings? It was clear that Shikhar Dhawan was not the right person to open the innings, despite him making some technical changes and showing more inclination to bat out more balls.

And what explains the decision of the team management not to select Karun Nair even for one game? Especially seeing how the middle-order fared? Ajinkya Rahane clearly wasn’t at his best, he lacked confidence. India should have tried Karun Nair in the middle order. And what Hanuma Vihari showed us all is if given a chance, there are players who have the capability and the intent to grind it out and make their opportunity count.

A lot of answered questions which led to the series loss. The selectors should give the likes of Karun Nair, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja a longer run in the team ahead of the tour of Australia?

Indian bowlers' inability to close out the tail quickly

India's bowling attack

It’s been a long time since an Indian touring side has had this much variety and skill. Ishant Sharma is a transformed bowler after his stint with Sussex. After working on certain aspects of his game with coach Jason Gillespie, he has looked brilliant.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have bought in their A games and despite being a little erratic at times, have always troubled the English batting line-up. Ravichandran Ashwin and Hardik Pandya also had their moments in the test series.

But what should worry the team management ahead of an important test series is the inability of this bowling attack to close out the innings quickly? The lower order of the England team have been prolific, or have they been made to look prolific?

Sam Curran (272 runs) and Jos Buttler (349 runs) have been instrumental in bailing their teams out of tight situations. They have batted tremendously well but it has got to be said that India’s bowlers let their guard down far too often allowing these batsmen to dominate proceedings.

This aspect of their game would need to be discussed in detail as despite having the bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hardik Pandya who are more than capable of getting the tail-enders out quickly, it didn’t happen.