5 Questions That The Indian Team Needs To Answer Before The Start Of 2nd Test Vs Sri Lanka

Reuters

Just as Amit Mishra was dismissed to give Sri Lanka the win on India's 69th Independence Day, the cameras panned to Kumar Sangakkara. At 38 and playing his last Test match at Galle, the Sri Lankan legend was sprinting towards his teammates. He had just been given a great parting gift¡ªan improbable victory in a match that seemed beyond Sri Lanka till the first half of day three. Here are five questions that the team needs to find answers to and quickly.

1. What's Wrong With The Team's Approach?

Reuters

A courageous counterattack from Dinesh Chandimal set it up and then the old warhorse Rangana Herath found his lost magic. Picking up seven wickets, he floored India one more time on overseas soil. While we celebrate Sangakkara, the Indian contingent must find the right answers for the Galle loss. One fundamental reason seems obvious¡ªthe team's approach. The Indians were tentative in the words of their young skipper, Virat Kohli, and weren't positive enough against the Lankan spinners. The visitors had come talking of aggressive cricket after all. A run rate of just over two in contrast to Sri Lanka's run rate of over 4 in the second innings sums up the story nicely. Lanka were pushing to win while India were scared of losing their advantage.

2. Do We Actually Need A Team Director?

Reuters

The tough questions need to be asked. First, what is the job of the team director? Ravi Shastri surely doesn't need to teach the boys how to bat. Virat, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan are accomplished batsmen. What is expected of Shastri is to sharpen their mental approach. At this level the director or the coach is more man manager than anything else and that¡¯s where Shastri is falling short.

He may well be a positive influence in the team as the players say, but the results are not in his favour. A poor one day series in Bangladesh and now a horrendous start to the Lankan campaign, the Indians are not doing any better under him. The mistakes are being repeated. Rohit is scarred mentally, Wriddhiman Saha has not learnt from his mistakes at Adelaide and the top order looks incapable of handling the pressure of a tricky run chase.

3. Are They Mentally Strong Enough?

Reuters

This team has potential. In conditions favouring spin, they have the arsenal to take 20 opposition wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin has found his grove and Amit Mishra has a few years of cricket left in him. Harbhajan Singh¡¯s return would just be added advantage. While Rohit continues to be an enigma of sorts, there is Pujara waiting for another chance. What the team needs is an improvement in approach. They need to be mentally stronger and deal with pressure, come back from tough positions and drive home the advantage when they do have it.

4. Can't They Learn From Guru Gary?

Reuters

Gary Kirsten did not have to teach Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly to bat. Rather, they could all teach Kirsten a trick or two. Yet he was an excellent coach. The one reason being he was an excellent man manager. As Tendulkar had said: "Under Gary, the dressing room believed anything was possible. We believed we could bat for two days or more to save a Test and even chase 400 to win a contest."

5. For How Long Will Fans Have To Wait?

Dawn

That's the change Gary brought to the team and that's what is desperately needed now. Giving far fewer interviews in his four years that Shastri has already done as director, Gary went about his job with composure. His goal was to make India the world's foremost Test team. That's what we expect from Ravi Shastri. A good cricketer during his playing days, it is still to be seen if he can mature into an excellent man manager as the team's director. The fans are waiting for results and a failure at Colombo in the second Test that starts Thursday may well see their patience run out.

(Originally published in ET Commentary for ET Blogs)