India will tour Australia for four Tests in 2020-21, including a possible day-night encounter.
NZ v IND 2020: Kohli comes out in defence of Pant after failure on comeback in New Zealand
India lost the first Test match by 10 wickets in Wellington and by 7 wickets in Christchurch. A lot was expected from the no.1 ranked Test team and the leaders of the points table in the World Test Championship. But though the bowlers came good in both the Test matches, batsmen fell way short of the expectations. India managed scores of 165, 191, 242 and 124 in the four innings they batted in.
Though there were many players who fell short of what they should have performed; Team COC picks three players who may not be picked when the BCCI selectors sit and pick the team for the uber-important tour of Australia later this year for a series of four Tests.
Check out 3 players who might be dropped from the Indian team for 2020-21 Australia Test tour
R ASHWIN
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He did make a good comeback against South Africa at home, but poor fitness has often hampered his form with the ball every now and then. He played in the first Test against New Zealand at Wellington’s Basin Reserve ground but managed just three wickets and was replaced by Jadeja in the next Test.
Ashwin also has four centuries to his name in Tests, but this aspect of his game has deteriorated a lot, as he looked listless against the moving ball in New Zealand. In his place, Ravindra Jadeja has become more of a viable option as his batting has improved drastically and he can pick wickets, if not in a bunch. His fitness and fielding are just the biggest positives the team has.
Ashwin needs to get fitter, which in turn will also give him confidence and then wickets will follow eventually.
UMESH YADAV
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He had replaced Ishant Sharma in the playing XI, but couldn’t manage to have the same impact as Sharma has been having. He has 144 wickets in 46 Test matches, with the majority of his wickets coming in Indian conditions, where he is unplayable, something he showed against South Africa and Bangladesh recently.
He has toured Australia three times but has not managed to have an impact, apart from bowling some thunderbolts at Aussie batsmen. His tendency to give away loose balls every over may become his bane when it comes to the selectors to decide on taking him to Australia for the 2020-21 four-Test series, or not.
AJINKYA RAHANE
Ajinkya Rahane, the once dependable batsman has become a shell of his former self. He had made a comeback of sorts against West Indies right after the World Cup in 2019, where he scored a century after two years.
He even had good outings at home against the Proteas and Bangladesh. But in the recently concluded series against New Zealand, he once again failed to impress.
He scored 46 in the first innings of the first Test, but after that was troubled by the bouncers of Kiwi pacers. He was even called a tail-ender by Harbhajan Singh after his dismissal in the second Test in Christchurch. Rahane was hopping and skipping, taking his eyes off the ball and getting hit numerous times.
He has a decent record in Australia with 616 runs in 15 Test innings with one century and 4 half-centuries and averages 44.00. However, given his current form on away tours, especially with his visible struggles against moving ball and short-pitched deliveries; the Indian selectors may not have the confidence of taking him to Australia for the four-Test tour later this year.
He is limited to playing Tests only and is no longer in contention for ODIs and T20Is, giving him fewer opportunities to play outside India and get constant international exposure. But his form and confidence are both visibly shot after New Zealand sojourn, something that may be held against him when the team for Australia tour will be selected.