Boxing Day Test: India need to quell panic and move on

NEW DELHI: I have always believed that one should never panic after facing a Test match loss. Rather, one should always try to learn from the mistakes. Who likes to lose? It is important amid chaos, you got to trust your players and encourage them. Meanwhile, the most discussed thing is what India’s playing eleven will look like for the Boxing Day Test. What changes will happen in the team? But I will repeat my point that the players who will not be part of the playing eleven this time, must not be dismissed in the future. They don’t have a dearth of talent.

Take Prithvi Shaw. It would not be right to make a hue and cry in a test here. He is very talented. If he has not been successful in New Zealand in the last test series, likely, other players would also have not been successful there. It would not be right to target one or two players. But still, I would like to see the opening of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne. Rahul has experience. He is also the vice-captain of ODI cricket. He knows to take responsibility. All they have to do is convert the performance of white-ball cricket into red-ball. It is being said that his performance has been poor in the last several Test series. It is very easy to sit outside and criticize. If a player is out of form, doesn`t mean that his form will remain bad in the future also. Pujara is at number three and I would like to see Hanuma Vihari playing at number four. They are ideal for this position in the current scenario.

Captain Ajinkya Rahane will be at number 5 and debutant Shubman Gill will have to give an opportunity on the number six. He is consistently doing well and will bat conveniently at this position. This position can also reduce the pressure on him.

On the seventh number, I would like to see Rishabh Pant playing in place of Ridhiman Saha. The big reason for this is that he is the only left-handed batsman on the team. Be it a practice match or a brilliant batting in the last Australian tour, he has impressed on both occasions. Imagine, that if the batsman of the seventh number makes 60 to 70 runs and also can score a century, then where will the score of the team reach. Such a player can work to bring the team back in the match. Australian wickets suit his playing style. He has also performed well as a wicketkeeper. The 61 victims behind the stumps in just 13 Test matches is enough to explain his success. Ashwin is at number 8. I would like to place Navdeep Saini in place of injured Mohammed Shami. His biggest advantage is that he can ball well with the old ball. Among the rest, Umesh and Bumrah are in the team. I am sure that Team India will bounce back and you will get to see very good cricket.

Kiran More is a former India Wicket Keeper-batsman, who played 49 Tests & 94 ODIs