India’s 209-run loss at the hands of Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final has rung the alarm bells for the team management. The failure of the top players at The Oval has led to a demand of incorporating young crops in India’s Test set-up.
India will enter the next WTC cycle with the 2-match Test series in the Caribbean. Several media reports have already stated that the tour might be decisive for Rohit Sharma’s leadership in the longest format of the game. Meanwhile, former selector Devang Gandhi has opined that the long-pending transition of the Test team must be initiated now.
Speaking with news agency IANS, Gandhi asserted that the transition process must be carried out smoothly, making the Test team look like a perfect blend of experience and youth.
“The first question they need to ask the selectors, team management is that in two years hence, if India reaches (the final), who are the possible guys who will feature in these Test matches,” he said.
“I definitely think the time has come (for the transition to happen) and once they have that kind of discussion, they will figure it out for themselves. Also, slowly, they can get into a phase where they can phase out certain players and blood in youngsters. There has to be a good blend of experience with youth. Ideally, it should not be a knee-jerk reaction, where you discard all the seniors,” he added.
Gandhi further suggested a couple of names who should be included in the Indian set-up. He said the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhimanyu Easwaran can be tried by the team management.
Following a superb run in the domestic circuit, Jaiswal recently replaced Ruturaj among the standby players for the WTC Final. On the other hand, Easwaran has been knocking at the selectors’ doors for quite a long time now. He was one of five standby players in the 2021 home and away series against England, apart from the 2021 WTC Final. Easwaran was also Rohit’s replacement for the Test series in Bangladesh last year, after scoring two centuries for India A against Bangladesh A.
“Two guys who come straightaway to my mind are Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhimanyu Easwaran, purely on the weightage of runs scored by these guys. What I feel is, at this point in time, Yashasvi and Abhimanyu have done exceedingly well in domestic cricket,” Gandhi said.
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“Easwaran was a part of the Indian team, but for some reason, he hasn’t featured in the playing eleven. That to me was a little surprising as he did well on A tours and was a member of the side on tour to England (in 2021), but came back without being tried.
“But I am sure he’s a good player and selectors will give him a fair run in the future. Plus, Abhimanyu has played in various conditions and toured the West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, so he has that experience behind him,” he added.
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