India’s strongest Test Playing XI in home and overseas conditions

The sport of cricket has come a long way since its inception on the British soil. The very first International cricket match was a Test between the English and the Australian team in 1877.

Since then, many countries, especially the commonwealth nations have made their debuts in various forms of cricket. Today, international cricket is played in three formats- The traditional Test matches, the game-changing ODIs and the revolutionary T20Is.

The Indian cricket team made its international Test debut in the year 1932. In the 88 years following the day on which the Indians first stepped on the ground for an international match, their team has come a long way from being minnows to underdogs to a potent and threatening force.

During this journey, many players like CK Naidu, MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble came and conquered our minds with their imaginative strokeplay and breathtaking deliveries.

The current Indian Test team has entered into an unprecedented era of dominance and a huge amount of credit goes to the unmatched aggression of the skipper Virat Kohli. The pace attack is more potent than ever before and the spinners are doing their job castling the stumps of batsmen. The skills of the current players coupled with the captain’s hunger for victory have turned out impressive results for the team in recent years.

Here we discuss the strongest Indian Test playing XI both at home as well as overseas:

1. Home- Rohit Sharma | Away- Prithvi Shaw

Ever since his dismal tour to Australia in 2018-19, cricketing pundits and experts throughout the world had started believing that Rohit Sharma’s Test career was finished. However, his fortunes in the longest format changed just like in limited-overs cricket by promoting him to the top order. Virat Kohli emulated his predecessor and his decision to promote Rohit to an opener in the home Test series against South Africa turned out to be a game-changer.

Ever since he started opening the batting, he became a completely different player scoring 556 runs in just 6 innings at a whopping average of 92.67. Out of these 6 innings, he surpassed the score of 100 on 3 occasions with a highest score of 212. The impact of opening the innings on his batting performances can be ascertained from the difference of about 46 runs between his opening and career average.

Despite his excellent home-record, Sharma has flattered to deceive in overseas Test matches. He hasn’t had a chance to showcase his skills as an opener yet, but his returns as a middle-order batsman are mediocre at best. Thus, in away matches, the most suitable batsman to open the innings instead of Rohit Sharma would be the child prodigy, Prithvi Shaw. Though he is only 2 away Test matches old, he has shown glimpses of brilliance in his 4 short yet eventful innings.

2. Mayank Agarwal

Sharing the opening strike with Rohit Sharma at home and with Prithvi Shaw overseas would be the Karnataka batsman Mayank Agarwal. A late bloomer by the modern-age standards, Agarwal has churned out impressive performances one after the other, both on home soil as well as in the hostile overseas conditions. Since his debut in Australia in 2018-19, Agarwal has made the opening spot his own and has been consistent match after match.

In overseas Test matches, he has managed to score 377 runs in 11 innings at an average of almost 35 with 4 fifties to his name. The figures in his home matches bear a significant change in all the aspects. On his own soil, he has scored 597 runs in just 6 innings at an average of 99.5 with a century and two double hundreds.

Since the opening combination of Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan started fading away, India has struggled for a regular opener. A temporary respite was provided by KL Rahul who, unfortunately, could not keep the position for long. If Agarwal is able to carry his form forward over the next year, he may be able to become a mainstay in the Indian Test cricket set up.

3. Cheteshwar Pujara

In the age of T20 cricket, it is extremely hard to find a player who still prefers textbook batting techniques over fancy new shots. The Saurashtra born batsman is one of such category. Widely credited as the next Rahul Dravid and the next ‘Wall of Indian cricket’, Pujara has more or less managed to live up to the expectations.

A less flashy player than most of his counterparts, he adopts his predecessor’s technique of wearing bowlers down in order to score a truckload of runs. His temperament, calmness and patience are attributes which make him one of the most suited players to this classic format of the game. Ever since his return to the Test fold in the year 2012, he has managed to keep hold of the coveted No.3 position.

In 64 away innings, Pujara has scored 2369 runs at an average of 38.21 with 8 hundreds, 7 fifties and a highest score of 193. In the same number of home innings, he managed to score 3471 runs at an average of 59.84 with 18 fifties, 10 hundreds and a highest score of 206*. He has remained not out on a total of 8 occasions throughout his career.

4. Virat Kohli (c)

The Indian skipper comes in at his usual No.4 batting position, both at home and overseas. Despite having a barren start to his Test career, Kohli has come leaps and bounds to establish himself as one of the holding pillars of the team. Initially struggling to score runs both home and away, Kohli was backed by the then Indian captain MS Dhoni and as a result, Kohli developed into an appropriate successor for the ‘Master Blaster’.

Before Sachin’s retirement, Kohli had developed a lot of grit and maturity and had also managed to score an appreciable number of runs. Thus, there was hardly any question on the successor of the greatest Indian Test batsman. Kohli’s fighting 116 against Australia in Adelaide was the innings which propelled him as a comprehensive Test player in the eyes of selectors.

In 85 away innings, Kohli has scored 3682 runs at an average of 44.36 with 12 fifties, 14 hundreds and a highest score of 200. In 60 home innings, he managed to score 3558 runs at an average of 68.42 with 10 fifties, 13 hundreds and a highest score of 254*. He is the only player on this list to have double hundreds both in India as well as overseas.

5. Ajinkya Rahane

The current Indian vice-captain belongs to the rare breed of players whose overseas record turns out to be better than that at home.  For a long time during the early 2010s, Rahane was a lone saviour who managed to save India from precarious situations in overseas Tests. The Test series against South Africa in the year 2013 turned out to be an ice breaker for him as he managed to impress one and all with his gritty yet cautious batting.

A short-statured cricketer, he has managed to stand tall above from all his counterparts in many sensitive situations. His ability to hold the innings at one end even while facing tall, menacing bowlers makes him an ideal choice for No.5. His contributions to the Indian Test cricket are underrated in the truest sense of the term.

In 67 away innings, Rahane has scored 2710 runs at an average of 45.17 with 7 hundreds, 15 fifties and a highest score of 147. Contrarily, at home, he has scored 1493 runs in 42 innings at an average of 39.29 with 4 hundreds, 7 fifties and a highest score of 188.

6. Ravindra Jadeja

The wily spin-bowling all-rounder from Saurashtra is the next player on this list. Over the years, Jadeja has continued to add on to his utility for the team. Initially drafted into the team as a left-arm spinner who could bat a bit lower down the order, he has emerged into a genuine all-rounder and a terrific fielder.

Jadeja has always been more than useful in the bowling department, especially in home conditions. However, lately, he has been focusing a lot of his energy on batting which is starting to pay huge dividends. His performances with the bat in the Caribbean and against South Africa and Bangladesh at home were nothing short of a wonder.

In 27 away innings, Jadeja has scored 663 runs at an average of more than 30 with 5 fifties. In the bowling department, he has scalped 56 wickets with a couple of five-wicket hauls. In 44 home innings, he has scored 1206 runs at an average of 38.9 with 9 fifties and a solitary hundred. He also managed to scalp 157 wickets with 7 five-wicket hauls and a single 10-wicket match haul.

7. Home- Wriddhiman Saha (wk) | Away- Rishabh Pant (wk)

On the home soil, the wicket-keeping duties will be taken up by the experienced gloves man Wriddhiman Saha. The Bengali keeper has made a name for himself with his unparalleled acrobatics behind the stumps. Wicketkeeping has always been his strength and has often resulted in him getting picked in the team despite his mediocre batting numbers.

In the hostile overseas conditions, his younger counterpart Rishabh Pant will take his position behind the stumps. After being given a break in Australia in 2018-19, Pant has not looked back and has impressed everyone, both with his batting as well as keeping. Interestingly, apart from his batting record, even his wicket-keeping record is better than Wriddhiman Saha in overseas conditions.

At home, Saha has scored 678 runs in 30 innings at an average of 30.82 with 2 fifties and 2 hundreds. He also has 44 dismissals to his name. In overseas conditions, Pant has scored 630 runs in 20 innings at an average of 33.16 with 2 hundreds. He also has 50 dismissals to his name, 15 more than Saha’s 35.

8. Home- Ravichandran Ashwin | Away- Hardik Pandya

Ravichandran Ashwin has turned himself into a cricket great with his more than impressive performances in the longest format of the game. Ever since he first took the field in whites against West Indies in 2011, he has gone from strength to strength breaking numerous records on the way. He is well on course to become the fourth Indian bowler with 400 Test wickets. Most of his wickets though were scalped in the Indian subcontinent.

On the other hand, the Baroda pace bowling all-rounder Pandya has practically played almost his entire Test career overseas. Being an aggressive batsman and a variation-based bowler, many people were apprehensive that he would not be able to find his feet in Test cricket. However, he has proved all of them wrong with his terrific returns in the longest format of the game.

Ashwin, in his home career, has scalped 254 wickets at an average of 22.8 with 21 five-wicket hauls and 6 ten-wicket match hauls to his name. He has also managed to score a couple of hundreds at home. On the other hand, Pandya, in 17 overseas innings has scored 461 runs with 3 fifties and a hundred and has also managed to scalp 17 wickets with a solitary five-wicket haul.

9. Ishant Sharma

The tall and lanky pacer from Delhi is the most experienced player in this Playing XI. Making his debut way back in 2008, his career was marred by a lot of injuries and unfortunate exclusions. He started his career with a bang, constantly troubling the legendary Australian batsman Ricky Ponting in his very first series.

Ishant was a gem right from the very beginning whose potential was not fully tapped until his comeback into the Test-fold. His tall frame along with his ability to bowl longer spells was just the qualities Indians were looking for in a Test bowler. Over the years, he has established himself into a specialist Test bowler.

In home innings, Ishant has managed to scalp 99 wickets at an average of almost 31 with a couple of 5-wicket hauls. On the contrary, he has flourished a lot in overseas conditions, scalping 199 wickets at an average of 32.88 with 9 five-wicket hauls and a solitary 10-wicket match haul. Interestingly, he became the first Indian bowler to grab a 5-wicket haul in pink-ball cricket.

10. Mohammed Shami

Just like his partner Ishant Sharma, Shami made his debut in red-ball cricket with an awe-inspiring performance. However, just like him, he faded away soon after his debut and similarly, made a stellar comeback. Shami has evolved a lot since his earlier days and has made himself an automatic choice for any Indian Test team.

His exploits in the second innings are widely recognized and he is often dubbed as ‘the king of second innings’. His perfect seam position is quite enviable and his ability to move the ball, wondrous. He can even extract reverse swing which increases his threat as the innings progresses.

In home matches, Shami has scalped 62 wickets at an average of just over 21 with a couple of 5-wicket hauls. In overseas Test matches, he managed to scalp 118 wickets at an average of just over 30 with 3 five-wicket hauls.

11. Home-Umesh Yadav | Away- Jasprit Bumrah

Umesh Yadav, the Vidarbha-born pacer has often elicited mixed reviews for his performances throughout the years. However, the fact of the matter is that he has often performed admirably well in home conditions and has turned out equally miserable returns overseas. His exploits in the recent home series against South Africa and Bangladesh are testament to the fact that he can be an unsung hero in home Test matches.

On the other hand, the pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah has made himself at home in almost all the countries where he has played. Unfortunately, he still hasn’t received the chance to showcase his skills in home conditions. Ever since his Test debut in 2018, he has made himself a mainstay in bowling despite not playing a single home game. In fact, he is the highest-ranked Indian Test bowler.

In home conditions, Umesh Yadav has scalped 96 wickets at an average of 24.54 with 2 five-wicket hauls and a 10-wicket match haul. On the other side, Bumrah, in overseas Tests, has already scalped 68 wickets at an average of 20.34 with 5 five-wicket hauls.