Three India Stars Who Missed the Mark Before the Big England Test Series ft. Yashasvi Jaiswal

Do you recall the time you prepared rigorously for an interview and then choked on the day? That is the equivalent for some of India’s youngsters because ahead of the highly anticipated Test series against England, India A had two warm-up first-class matches against the England Lions — a fantastic opportunity for some players on the fringes of India’s Test squad to stake their claims. Yes, a couple of players made headlines, but not everyone made headlines for the right reasons.

When Yashasvi Blinked: A Rare Dip Before the Big Test

Here’s the deal – when a player such as Yashasvi Jaiswal doesn’t produce, eyebrows are raised. This is the same batter who scored 1,798 runs in this WTC cycle, I should add. The two practice matches, especially for Jaiswal, showed him falling short of what we expect to see. Don’t get me wrong, Jaiswal produced a sheet of runs with a glittery 64 in the first match, and that is even with other scores of 24, 17, and 5.

Even more worrying was how he began both innings in the second game—he struggled at the start to put India A on the back foot early. Jaiswal plays on confidence and rhythm, and while it is possible that the English conditions (and the Duke’s ball) robbed him of both, expect the southpaw to bounce back, and he should be for the real Tests. Given his previous record and ability to bounce back, expect him to jar when the time comes, but yeah, these warm-ups were not the best trailers for future projects.

Also read:- What India Can Learn from South Africa’s WTC Glory

Harshit Rana: Lacklustre in the Only Chance He Got

Fast bowlers can enjoy the situation of being in England, especially if the pitch is a seamer’s one. When Harshit Rana got his chance in the sunlight, he made nothing of it. Rana played just the first game at Canterbury, bowled 27 overs, gave up 99 runs, and took one wicket. That wasn’t the first match to write home about when England Lions were 587.

It is not that Rana does not have the talent – he claimed four wickets on India’s last Test tour of Australia, and he has decent pace to go along with that talent. But when trying to fight your way into a bowling line-up that contains Bumrah, Siraj, Arshdeep, etc., a poor performance against England Lions will not help your prospects. But stay with the main squad, we know that fanatical manager’s a bit strange – perhaps they can see something that the stats do not (yet)?

Harsh Dubey: Spun into the Wrong Side of English Conditions

Harsh Dubey’s journey is a story of huge potential – 69 wickets in the Ranji Trophy this season and one of the key components in Vidarbha’s title-winning effort. But unfortunately for him, England did not exactly roll out the red carpet for spinners.

Dubey only played one game (at Canterbury) and was taken to town – 1/129 in 25 overs at an economy rate of over 5. Ouch. The pitches were not exactly spoon-feeding spin, but the economy rate is what hurt. It is hard to judge a spinner too harshly in English conditions, but you would still expect them to exert a little more control.

Form in cricket, especially red-ball cricket, will always be an interesting topic! A game or two of bad form isn’t the end of the story. Yes, Jaiswal, Rana, and Dubey did not necessarily take over the warm-up matches, but they have exhibited talent in other situations. The England series is long and brutal. Who’s to say an injury oral form slump in the main group doesn’t offer chances again?

Let us know your thoughts – which of these three do you feel deserves another chance in the longer formats?