You could try your luck against the Bangladesh bowlers in Dhaka but you have no chance when the monsoon decides the time has come! You can't complain about it because the rains have a higher mission in life than a mere cricket match but there must have been a clinching reason for this schedule. As there must be when South Africa arrive here soon. The cricket was interesting while it lasted. The pitch was excellent and clearly the batsmen loved it but if the bowlers were willing to invest in it, as Ravi Ashwin did, there was something in it for them too. And so while the cricket was sporadic, and therefore insufficient, it was the decision making around it that evoked greater interest. More specifically, it was what Virat Kohli said and did in his first Test as captain. Playing five bowlers in Dhaka wasn't the most adventurous call but it wasn't one India have tended to take too often. True, Dhoni gave it a go in England, which was brave, but Kohli has said he likes the idea of 5+5+1 and wants to stay with it. Over the next 12-18 months, India play in more familiar conditions where fringe batsmen can become more reliable and given that, it is a good way to start. The key to it though will lie in numbers 6,7,8 and ideally even 9, pulling their weight with the bat. At the moment, it looks like Wriddhiman Saha will get number 6 and Ashwin 7 though it would be wonderful if there is some healthy competition for the higher position. It will demand that both look upon themselves, not as support batsmen, but as full-fledged ones. It is a big difference. At number 7 and 8, where they would otherwise appear, a solid 30 or 35 is a decent contribution and adds significantly to their overall offering to the team. At number six it doesn't because you have to be able to win a match with the bat from there as VVS Laxman so often did. So, Saha and Ashwin have not only to think like they are batsmen, they have to justify that thought with batsman-like scores. If they can do that reasonably often, Kohli's aggressive plank of playing five bowlers has a chance. If instead, the thought when number 6 walks down the steps onto the ground is one of apprehension, the plan will have to be jettisoned. In India, numbers 8 and 9 are likely to be spinners and as a community, they tend to bat better than the fast bowlers. The five on the fringe are Harbhajan Singh, Ravi Jadeja, Axar Patel, Karn Sharma and Amit Mishra and they can all handle themselves in Indian conditions. Over the next year, one of them has to become a reliable number 8 overseas because there will be three fast bowlers there and neither of those has shown any ambition with the bat. True, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is perfectly capable but the new thought seems to be that you want faster bowlers and for them, the bat hasn't assumed much importance. The ideal situation of course is that one of the top six becomes good enough to bowl a bit. Currently that is a challenging thought and hence the need to play five bowlers. In parallel, India need to start looking for a bowler who bats. We don't see enough of Irfan Pathan and Rishi Dhawan isn't being looked at in this light. India have tried Stuart Binny but I am not sure how long that will continue unless Binny can earn his place at number 6. Kohli's use of two off-spinners in Dhaka worked while play lasted. As happens so often, the incumbent is more secure and confident and Ashwin looked and bowled that way. As Sanjay Manjrekar keeps saying so often, comebacks after a certain age are very difficult because people are almost looking for you to fail where ten years earlier they looked to see if you could succeed. Harbhajan Singh looked like he was feeling his way around a bit but the question with him is whether a further investment in him is going to be productive. The team for the next Test will be a good indicator of what the selectors and the new captain are thinking about. My feeling is that he will have to do something quite spectacular to find his way back as the second spinner when India travel. It will be excellent if he can but we didn't get a definitive answer in Dhaka. What we did see was that Kohli was willing to take the aggressive call. To be fair, it wasn't difficult to do that in these circumstances but it spoke of a mindset and it will be interesting to see if he can continue that way. It will be something to look forward to in the months and years ahead. And indeed, to see how Kohli manages to carry the team along without letting the premier batsman in the side take a backseat!
