Humiliating innings defeat completes the debacle at Old Trafford

Team India conceded the initiative  and the series lead once again. The Indian team capitulated in three days at Old Trafford. It could have been all over sooner if it was not for the twelfth man for the Indian side—the rain.

The signs were ominous from the start. Pankaj Singh retained the confidence of his skipper and his place in the side.

Varun Aaron came in at the expense of Mohammad Shami. I truly feel for the UP bowler; he has been bowled into the ground since his début and is not the bowler he was at the start of his exciting career.

Aaron did enough to justify his place in the side. The inclusion of Ishwar Pandey could have made things even more interesting. I would rather have an express bowler in the side than a medium pacer on these pacy wickets especially when the journeyman is not a Zaheer Khan, that is, he lacks variety.

But the real story was that our much-vaunted batting line-up failed once more; the senior bats were made to look like novices against the moving ball.

The attitude of the new batting stars should undergo a sea change. Instead of muttering that things will be different when the English come to India—it was not, they beat us 2-1—it might be better that Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli consider a stint in county cricket to build their technique in overcast, murky conditions. The question is how and when? Will their IPL and Team India commitments allow them to do so? Or are these fancies to be indulged in only by players on the fringe of national selection?

What can MS Dhoni do to stem the rot?

Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan failed to deliver when it mattered. It is time that the selectors selected in-form batsmen for crucial overseas tours and not hope that they strike form on tour—a strategy fraught with obvious dangers.

Dhoni can gamble and have Naman Ojha or Rohit Sharma open the batting. I would go with the latter.

There appears to be no option but to persist with Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli and hope that their twin  failures galvanise them to improve their performances and live up to the reputations of their predecessors—Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

Ravindra Jadeja is another perennial favourite with his skipper. It is time he sat out.

Why does one have a sneaky feeling that the Indian skipper prefers  either his Chennai Superkings teammates or players from the North?

Ishant Sharma makes his return to the side conditional on a full recovery from his ankle injury.

Pankaj Singh—at last—made the record books claiming two wickets in his second game. He is more suited for the shorter format of the game where containment is the name of the game.

My team choice for the Kensington Oval:

Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron, Mohammad Shami/Ishwar Pandey.