Team India will miss their star player Virat Kohli for the first two Tests of the anticipated five-match series against England. While the BCCI informed that 35-year old opted out of Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam flights on a personal ground Monday.
India has been in blistering Test form at home, going undefeated in their previous 16 bilateral series since losing 1-2 to England in 2012-13. They recently returned from an amazing 1-1 draw in South Africa.
While England leads the overall Tests series 50-31, India has devastated them in the past two home series by 4-0 and 3-1 scores in 2016-17 and 2020-21.
However, England has not yet lost a Test series since the start of 20th September Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum era. Their most recent red-ball engagement was the home Ashes, from where they came back after finding themselves in a 0 –2 deficit and leveled it to draw at 2-2.
Nonetheless, they must confront the difficult job of overcoming the Indian behemoth in their backyard.
Team India will face a difficult task in replacing Virat Kohli and his 8,848 Test runs in the first two games. Nonetheless, they should be unconcerned for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being their unparalleled domination in the five-day format at home.
So, why exactly should India keep cool about losing Virat Kohli in the first two England Tests? Here are three convincing reasons:
1. Shreyas Iyer can match Virat Kohli’s prowess against spin
Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli’s potential replacement, has demonstrated his ability to negotiate and finally crush spinners in spin-friendly conditions throughout Tests.
Despite only playing 12 red-ball matches for India, the 29-year-old boasts a first-class average of more above 50, primarily on turning wickets at home. Iyer has transferred that into international performances, particularly in Asian circumstances.
Despite playing the majority of his red-ball games in spin-friendly conditions, the Mumbai-born cricketer has an excellent 48.61 average on the Asian subcontinent. Iyer hit a stunning 105 and 65 on his Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur in 2021.
He followed that up with several solid performances before his standout series in Bangladesh. After striking a gutsy 86 from 192 balls in the first Test, Iyer hit match-winning shots on a hazardous Mirpur track in the second game.
A key player in a game with few runs, the right-handed hitter brought in an essential 87, pushing India ahead. Following this effort, Iyer pulled through with a determined 29* in the last innings. This performance supported India in securing an unlikely victory from a precarious 74/7 while pursuing 145.
Despite not making many runs in the two Tests against Australia at home last year, Iyer was never bothered by spin and contributed a handful of game-changing cameos.
2. Kohli hasn’t set the house on fire against spin in recent Tests
While Virat Kohli’s overall Test record and ability at home speak for itself, his recent efforts in turning conditions have been subpar.
After losing his 186 on a docile Ahmedabad track in the last Test against Australia last year, the 35-year-old had a dismal series. Virat Kohli struggled against rookie Todd Murphy and veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon throughout the series, averaging only 22 in five innings.
The figures were significantly worse in the away series against Bangladesh prior to the Australian Tests. Despite India’s 2-0 series victory, Virat Kohli scored only 45 runs in two Tests at an average of 15 and a high of 24.
He even struggled against his perhaps favorite opponent, Sri Lanka, in the 2022 home series, averaging just 27 in two games. Even in India’s most recent home series against England, Kohli averaged only 28.66 in four games, with no three-figure scores.
While Kohli’s presence and expertise are invaluable, his absence may not be as significant as it once was at home, given his recent troubles with spin.
3. India’s batting depth and England’s spin woes to overcome Kohli’s absence
Despite the possibility that Virat Kohli’s absence would lead to some inexperience in the middle order, the hosts will rely on the English spinners’ lack of experience to keep them safe.
The left-arm twirler, Jack Leach, with 35 Test matches, is the most seasoned in spinning the ball among the visitors. His experience in India’s red-ball games counts to only four. Other twirlers, Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed, and Shoaib Bashir, share a single Test match experience among them.
Neither of the trio has played 25 first-class games, so their prospects of capitalizing on India’s middle order are minimal.
Furthermore, India may have strong batting up to Axar Patel at No. 9. This remarkable depth helped India avoid disaster multiple times during their previous home series against Australia last year. Axar scored 264 runs at an average of 88 in that series, despite the pitches being rank turners and batters on both sides laboring.
With an inexperienced English spin attack and an Indian batting lineup of outstanding depth, Rohit Sharma and company should maintain their home supremacy even without Virat Kohli.