Pakistan have handed a reality check to the Australian Test team – quite forcibly yet comfortably. Very peculiar that line – Pakistan, reality-check and Test team being the key words. For all the love for the Emu, the Kangaroo and the Baggy Green, sometimes like Eddy ‘Scrap-Iron’ Dupree said, one has to be able to take a step back. In Test cricket, this means, playing for a draw. That, by popular belief, Australia doesn’t do. Can they ever do that is another question – they do have the past results pretty much on their side of the argument – of not playing for a draw.

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Bold predictions do garner much media attention, but there is howsoever slight a chance, that David Warner is already feeling the pressure of not-being the MVP of the WC-2015. We don’t know, if whether the Emu or the Kangaroo, with their periscopic structure can look much farther than the rest but, there is another Test series and a triangular ODI series before anyone should be predicting the semi-final line-ups. Australia have a lot of things to worry about, the primary among them, is that they have to worry about a lot of things. It is an unchartered territory for them. Australia, increasingly and for quite a long time now, look like all other sides – 3 players carrying the baggage of other 8. The attitude, determination, resolve might be there on display – but they are lacking the performance to back it. Clarke, Johnson and to some extent Warner are the 3 carriers. 

Finch, Smith, Maxwell and Marsh remain a long way away from cutting their teeth in the Test arena.  Moreover, Australia are playing 3 T20s, 9 ODIs and 4 Tests before the World Cup, compared to India’s 8 ODIs and 5 Tests. Sri Lanka have been woken up from their fitness regime to suddenly play 5 ODIs. The scheduling too is quite haphazard for the Australians and the altering of the formats is sure to cause some turmoil in the frame of mind. Presently, South Africa look the only side stable enough and also in favour of the law of averages. England without KP look like the customary old English ODI teams. Meanwhile in Gotham, where West Indies was becoming the new Sri Lanka, India have very effectively brushed off the English memory – what England, what Test series?

But for their messy relationship with the Board, the West Indies left midway and BCCI did what it does when they don’t have a lawsuit or award function to go to. BCCSL is on speed dial number two of the BCCI mainline, right after Ravi Shastri. It will be very surprising if the score line reads anything other than four-one in India’s favour. BCCI, presumably has assigned relevant weights to the attributes behind the purpose of this ODI series, those of match practice versus financial gains.    

India will pick their Test team soon. Looking ahead till the end of the World Cup, there are four key issues India should be deeply concerned about; first is to assess if they are going for the Test series with a wrong aim in mind – that of acclimatising with the conditions for the World Cup. That would be the worst idea, considering our Test teams and ODI teams ceased to overlap a long time ago (in terms of individual roles if not members). The conditions in England and Australia are much diverse barring fast and bouncy pitches. The composition of the oppositions too is going to be different. MS Dhoni has the brain that will analyse the situations rightfully, one feels. It is not the first time that India will be playing a Test series without the big four – enough time has passed, the new lot now need to show they belong.

There is no dearth of batting talent, in the eleven, fifteen, thirty and even the wings; but, the right approach is what is lacking. Hopefully, the appointment of Ravi Shastri will pay off. There have to be two different plans for tests and ODIs which overlap in the right areas.

Secondly, performance of the ODIs in the triangular Down Under should be more important to picking the squad for the World Cup. Is Yuvraj Singh a part of the World Cup plan? He doesn’t think so, someone needs to put him out of his misery. Is Gautam Gambhir still an asset with enough firepower? Should Suresh Raina’s resurgence merit a Test comeback or is he too valuable in the ODI format to sacrifice his fitness and confidence in the Tests?  Where do Rohit and Rahane feature in the long run? 

Thirdly, coming back to the test team, is this MSD’s last chance at redemption? Lord knows he has achieved everything once and again – but he won’t argue or abstain from accepting that the number 6 rank, unlike the number 6 position irks him a great deal. It is definitely not where India should be, but the team is performing like that is exactly where they should be. Contrary to the point raised earlier, that of Australia not being able to play for a draw in the interest of not losing – India have to start from achieving a draw first and that means not losing twenty wickets as against taking 20 wickets. Pujara and Kohli are the most important people in the equation there. The team blew it in England – capitulated without as much a whimper after Old Trafford. A fit Siddle with the two Mitchells ought to be enough to take 20 wickets, Clarke will feel. And that will be true if India haven’t learnt anything from the tour to England. A note of caution, however tempting and likely it is to issue a boarding pass to KL Rahul – a berth in the eleven should overcome the recency bias. 

Finally, deliverance; the taking of twenty Australian wickets – India’s chronic disease – needs heavy dosages of both decent pace-attack and quality spin-attack with compliance and persistence. In this era of ODIs – of a maximum of four fielders outside the ring a Kohli-esque conversion rate is not too difficult. Factor in the conditions and it shows that Indian bowling needs to a lot better, lot sooner and consistently to create any impact on match results in ODIs even. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami pick themselves in both the formats, but India needs at least two more frontline fast bowlers in the fray. Who among Ishant, Mohit, Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav should make the cut and who among Mishra, Patel, Ashwin and Sharma get the thorny crown? Then there is this whole other area to ponder over – Zaheer Khan! He will bring in bags of invaluable experience – where and how can it be used? Maybe, sign him up as the bowling coach already – two stones with a single bird sort of a thing. 

The cricketing community is going to go into a full throttle mode and a lot of turbulence for the next five months. The fans can only benefit from this. The Australia-South Africa series promises to be sumptuously mouth-watering and so does the India-Australia Test series. West Indies hopefully should sort everything out before they embark on their preparative matches – they are too beautiful a side in spirit to be in off-field messes. Pakistan as usual bring in the unpredictability and only someone who can count cards will dismiss their chances. The defending champions have a few aberrations to correct and hunger to feed, the perennial underachiever has demons to exorcise and the home team has a question to answer – are Australia ready for Australia?