BCCI move to fly in Stuart Binny as reinforcement is a belated but welcome step

In the Adelaide Test Down Under last year, something similar to that off the recently-concluded Galle Test happened. India lost the plot after being in a comfortable position and were eventually beaten in the Test. Indian batsmen, in recent times, have shown inconsistency in the second innings, especially the middle and the lower-order.

One of the main reasons for India’s tragic loss at Galle was the inability of the Indian batsmen to tackle spin. Kohli has led the team from the front in four Tests as a captain so far. His willow has done most of the talking; however, his decisions as a captain haven’t paid any dividends yet.

The primary job of choosing five bowlers is to pick wickets. Indian bowlers have fulfilled the assigned task of clinching 20 wickets in a game on most of the occasions. But when a team has five frontline bowlers, it is unlikely that a bowler or two is used to his potential. In the first innings of the Galle Test, Amit Mishra bowled six overs. And in the second innings, Varun Aaron bowled just seven overs. It’s a testament that couple of bowlers are being underutilised.

India played six batsmen with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha at six. Playing such combination clearly indicates the aggressive instincts of Kohli, but the Indian batsmen have showed signs of their incompetency to win a Test in the fourth innings. It’s not for the lack of effort; it’s all about temperament.  After gaining a healthy lead in the first innings, they failed to chase down a target of 176 runs in the second innings as the wickets fell like nine pins on a pitch which had everything for the spinners. An extra batsman in the line-up would have given more stability and would have provided an additional hand to chase down the set target.

India can take a leaf out from Sri Lanka as they did a better job with playing four specialist bowlers, with the fifth being all-rounder Angelo Matthews. Every bowler can’t be a wicket-taking bowler; relief to the frontline bowlers can be given by bowling part-timers for a few overs. Any part-timer can fulfil this job and can roll his arm in middle of the session as Joe Root and Kane Williamson do it effectively for England and New Zealand respectively.

The SOS to Stuart Binny is a remedial measure as he can lengthen the batting line-up as also do the fifth bowler’s job effectively.