June - An auspicious start of summer in England for Indian cricket

The famous quote by Jean Hersey June is the gateway to summer is perfect as regards Indian cricket teams that tour England Indias first ever Test match was played at Lords London on June 25 1932 On that very date 51 years later India won the World Cup at the same venue These two landmark moments are etched in the history of Indian cricket both achieved in England at the start of the summer in JuneThe inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship WTC final is to be held at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Southampton in England from June 18 India should look at it as a lucky omen as June 2021 could just be the crowning glory for Indian cricket if they lift the trophy and become the official Test cricket champions It would be a glorious moment for Indian cricket after 89 years of playing the longest formatThe concept of a Test championship is a terrific initiative of the ICC The pure and conventional form of the game needed a boost Although arranging matches in an already approved cricket calendar was a major issue both India and New Zealand the finalists at present look to be the two best Test teams in the worldThe issue that one is concerned about is the weather In June rain could be a spoilsport The ICC has earmarked an extra day for the WTC final for that purpose They could have quite easily decided to increase it further to ensure five days of cricket A draw would result in both teams sharing the trophy an outcome that is considered fuddy duddy in the modern world that believes in a result and a winnerThe ideal way would have been for the team that qualified with the maximum points to be adjudged the winner if the result is a draw This would then require the team with less number of points to go for a win Alternatively a threematch series would have been the perfect setting If drawn then the team with the better aggregate of points in the league stage should be the winnerNew Zealand having beaten India comprehensively in the 2 match Test series in New Zealand in 2019 must fancy their chances The June weather conditions in England may be very similar and so New Zealand will feel they have that psychological edge over India as well Another additional advantage that the Kiwis have is that they will be playing a 2 Test match series versus England before the Test Championship This would give their players an opportunity to get acclimatized and also the team management to zero in on their playing elevenOn the other hand the abrupt end to the IPL has given Indian selected players that extra time for them to recover and recoup from the treacherous biosecured bubble and the fatigue of the workload of cricket that they have been subjected to in the last six months However the escalating spread of the dreaded virus and the lockdowns in India may result in many of the players being cocooned indoorsTo get into top physical and mental fitness may become a challenge for many of them Keeping in the groove is very important in a sportsmans life and three weeks of idleness could put one back quite a bit Indian players do plan to assemble in the first week of June and in England play a few practice matches amongst themselves This may look acceptable in relation to the long England tour that India will undertake immediately after the WTC but for the prize fight it may be inadequateIndia has faltered in the first Test matches that they played overseas in the recent years and even in the last series at home against England This shows that the Indian players need time to acclimatise and adjust to the conditions Indian batting is blessed with a few exceptional stroke players and for them they need to get comfortable with the playing surface to be at their prime form Similarly both spin and the pace bowlers will need to get used to the conditions as well as with the Dukes brand ball used in EnglandThe Indian batting does look superior to New Zealand on paper However the Kiwis would have an upper hand after having played the twoTest matches before they take on India The pace bowling of both the sides stand tall and the deciding factor will be the fielding especially in the slip cordon India have a very peculiar problem and that is to select the playing XI The batting with Rohit Sharma Shubman Gill Cheteshwar Pujara Virat Kohli Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant make up the top six And after adding three pacers in Jasprit Bumrah Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma India are left with two slots to fillThe challenge would be as to who from the two spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel who championed the side to victory in the last Test series against England or from the allround performances displayed by Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar would make the cut Adding to their selection problem is Indias leading allrounder at present Ravindra Jadeja back from an injury One can also not overlook Mohammed Siraj who spearheaded Indias pace attack in the last Test match in AustraliaThe plethora of choice is what the rest of the cricketing world is in awe of as regards Indian cricket The onus of selecting the final XI on the tour will be on the head of the Indian tour management and their think tank of the coach captain and vicecaptain with inputs from the support staff Its a task that will only be appreciated when Virat Kohli lifts the inaugural WTC trophy After all in this case one swallow will make the summer for Indian cricketAlso Read Can Team India end eightyear wait with World Test Championship winThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever