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Even in ODI cricket, their VB series victory in Australia and various other good performances away from home (World Cup 2003) contrast sharply with some poor performances in spin-friendly conditions. The Champions Trophy in 2006 and Australia’s ODI series win in 2007 rank amongst the home disappointments.

Is this a sign that India is moving away from a long tradition and now becoming more of a threat on pitches that do a bit more for the quickies? In a perfect world, they would develop this strength whilst still defending ‘Fortress India’. Australia have certainly shown that winning away doesn’t need to come at the expense of domination at home. That is partly because recent Australian teams have wonderful balance and they are very adaptable in all conditions. Can the same be said of India?

Next question: is it about time to start looking at blooding the next generation? Class and pedigree are good things but perhaps the time draws nigh to look to the future. India’s next generation is chock-full of talent and perhaps, there needs to be a slow phasing in process so that there is no massive hole when the aforementioned ‘greats’ all exit the game within a short space of time. It’s an age-old question – do you pick the best XI on any given day or do you also start planning for the future? Is Test cricket meant to be for the best 11 cricketers in the country on that day? If you are the best today, should it matter how old you are? Is it the Best XI or the Best Future XI?

Last question: what are India’s spin bowling stocks looking like? I ask the question with a genuine lack of inside knowledge. It’s clear that Kumble and Harbajhan are no longer as effective as they once were – in Kumble’s case, he has nothing to apologise for.

I daresay it’s not just India’s worry though. Mendis apart, who else in the world is showing signs of becoming a future star of the game? Panesar is steady, Vettori is no spring chicken and Kaneria is by no means the guaranteed match winner that Pakistan was looking for after Mushtaq and Saqlain. Is India well covered in this area or is that a question that’s still up in the air?

India may well be the new superpower of cricket in the administrative sense but I’m not convinced that they’re quite ready (yet) to assume that mantle on the field. One poor performance is not the end of the world but one wonders about the next few years after the senior ‘legends’ move on. Is there any need to worry or is the production line working efficiently with fresh young talent waiting impatiently to carry India forward?

Should India lose this series badly, we will soon find out how good the Indian bench strength is. I think the time is right for Murali Karthik to come back into the fold, the main problem is simply that he would be the ideal replacement for Kumble, who happens to be the captain! Amit Misra also deserves some chances in the not too distant future, perhaps South Africa series or England series might be the right time to try him out.

So far as the batsmen are concerned, I have no worries. Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Badrinath, Goswami, Manoj Tiwari, the list of potential really good batsmen is quite long. The worry is the bowling, we don't have enough people who are good once the ball has lost its shine on a slow pitch. A rupee for anyone who can name a reverse-swinging yorker bowler for India.

I've been pondering on this point for some time now.
For one, yes our current crop of batsman arent as good players of spin as the ones from prev generations. the fab four apart, bastmen like Navjyot Siddhu are unbelieveably rare in the domestic scene. As for the spinners, yes the spin treasury is dwindling, but thats not necessarily bad. remmbr before the 90s, b4 warne and murali, it was all fast bowling.
As long as the bowlers are world class, it doesnt matter whether it is spin or pace.
remember Ian Chappell and Imran Khan crying for quality fast bowlers? Well they have got their wish.
Now the Bedis and Chadrashekhars and possibly Warnes and Muralis will pine for mind numbing soinners for the next decade.
its a never ending cycle!

I don't think it is just a question of lack of spinners. Where are the quality quicks? Guys like Ishant Sharma are pretty good under helpful conditions, but nobody in the Indian team is McGrath-esque in terms of quality. The problem of lack of quality bowlers is worldwide and is primarily due to the quality of pitches. The problem is even more so in India because there is greater greed due to the huge market. How can you expect quality bowlers when you are playing on such docile tracks all the time? Kumble got started in the early 90's when Indian test wickets were cracking dustbowls. They still probably are spinner friendly, but they completely lack bounce and pace and any spin is slow and easily negated. The administrators are only interested in extending test matches as long as possible and getting max revenue..do you see how many batsmen average above 50 in tests now? Methinks that has a lot to do with pitch quality (or lack of it!)

I think it has generally been ignored by the selectors that Harbhajan has been declining rapidly as a test match bowler over the last few years. Murali Kartik has done little wrong and deserves a chance. Piyush Chawla should be ready to be a strike bowler soon if he learns quickly. JK's observation about lack of Indian seamers who can bowl a tight line and get some nip even in unhelpful conditions is spot on. Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth and RP Singh (all being good bowlers) seem to rely on some help from the pitch to be effective at all. If someone like Munaf Patel had the kind of discipline needed to succeed at the highest level, the team would be very served.

India needs to stop playing Harbhajan. He's toothless. Kumble's powers are fading. It's time now to infuse some fresh blood in the spin department. Try out Ojha and Chawla. I think they hold the future. Then there's the theory of the balls in use. In India bowlers use the Duke ball. Except England, most other test playing nations use the Kookaburra. The Indian spinners, barring Kumble to a small degree, have had problems with the Kookaburra. Moreover in places such as Australia and South Africa the pitches arent conducive enough. Sydney or Adelaide help the spinners but only on days 4 & 5. Likewise, Murali hasnt been great shakes when playing in India. Didnt India win the last test series against SL at home quite comfortably? He has problems with the Duke ball it would seem. Has he done anything of note in Australia. I think not. So, this result was expected.

But the batsmen are a different story. They are lazy superstars spoiled by the IPL.
http://punditsez.blogspot.com

That we're compelled to ponder the merit of selecting the superstars vs the future prospects arises from the fact that most of our fab-gang have overstayed their tenures. A comparison with South Africa shows them up. Mickey Arthur has recently said that SA have built up a young successful team by nurturing new-comers over the last two years. What facilitated Steyn, Amla and Prince to establish themselves was, first, tutelage under players like Kirsten and Pollock and then their timely retirement. Both Kirsten and Pollock retired at times when they could have easily extended their careers but they realised the need to create space for the young ambitious lot coming in. Youth and ambition left on the shelf can quickly go stale.
Ganguly, Laxman, Kumble and Dravid have nothing more to prove on the field. They now need to prove their statesmanship off it by making way for Raina, Rohit and Ojha.

Michael, my honest opinion is that spin is no longer fashionable in India. When I grew up playing cricket - and I am 23 now-, nobody other than me was interested in spin bowling, so just by getting a decent loop and flight, I became something of a star in street cricket!!! Everybody wants to bowl pace but we don't yet have the expertise to produce an assembly line of world class pace bowlers. After all, who else other than Ishant? Age is not on Zak's side, otherwise the Irfans and RPs can't be relied on too heavily. In the interim, we could tide over the spin problem by giving a fulltime job to Ramesh Powar and Murali Kartik who were never matchwinners but could at least deliver as insipid - or less even! -a performance than Kumble and Harbhajan in SSC. The batting is not really such a worry, sure we won't get the next Sachin or Dravid anytime soon but the stables are packed with colts waiting in the wings. Gambhir already seems to have reserved his spot, for one.