A 13-Test long home cricket season is about to begin and India has to do much more than just win

Thirteen Test matches in one home season is not a small number, by any means. India have never played as many Test matches in one home season in this millennium. The last time they played as many Tests was in 1979-’80.

New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia will all be visiting the country between the September 2016 and March 2017. That is a lot of Test cricket and while some may argue that it was long overdue, the worry remains that it could be a bit of an overdose.

But Virat Kohli will not worry about that too much. The long extended season of home cricket gives him and the team he commands, an excellent opportunity. The World No. 1 ranking is definitely at stake but there is a whole lot more: over seven months, they will have the opportunity to create legacies, establish their superiority in the white-ball format and lay down a marker that could decide Indian cricket’s standing over the next few years.

Invincible at home

The first target for the Indian team must be to ensure that they continue their domineering ways at home. That is not to say India have stuttered, but there have been a few blips. In 2012, India slipped to a 1-2 series defeat against England, thanks largely to the visiting team’s spinners Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, and some help from Kevin Pietersen.

To their credit, India did come back from that by whitewashing Australia 4-0 in the home series that followed. This season will pose a stern challenge, with both those teams touring again, but India must maintain their invincibility at home. England, despite drawing 2-2 against Pakistan at home in their summer, are still a talented Test team and could pose a challenge with a plethora of exciting players. It will be up to Kohli to ensure that his teammates do not lose focus.

An opportunity to create a legacy

For many of India’s Test cricketers, especially those who play just the white-ball format, this is just the chance they need to create their own legacy. If the team puts in some fantastic performances through this season, we might see the emergence of something similar to the “Fab Five” in the early 2000’s.

It is through times like these that individual players mark their stamp on the game and ensure they are remembered. For players like Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, especially, who only play Test matches and, hence, often float out of the public eye, this is that one opportunity to ensure that any and all question marks about them are erased.

Kohli v Root v Williamson v Smith

This is likely to shape up to be the most mouth-watering battle of the winter. India’s Virat Kohli will face off against New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, England’s Joe Root and Australia’s Steven Smith in separate series. These four are easily considered to be the best batsmen in modern-day cricket. By the time this season ends, we might be a little closer to settling the debate on who’s the best among them.

Kohli has already scored a double century in Test cricket this year and his white-ball form has been good. He is an intensely ambitious batsman and will undoubtedly want to be known as the best in Test cricket as well. Now, all his challengers to the throne await him in one delicious season. Can Root and Smith play some spell-binding knocks in Indian conditions to take the gloss off Kohli at home? Will Williamson’s grit give New Zealand some edge over India?

As far as Kohli is concerned, he will want to top them all. Watch this space.

Captain Aggressive

Kohli has already led the Indian Test team in three full series with admirable results. India have won against Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies – in fact, they have only lost once in 11 Test matches against those three teams.

It is accepted that Kohli will take over the reins of the limited-overs team as well when Mahendra Singh Dhoni finally calls it quits. This home season, however, could give some clarity as to when that transition is likely to happen. While Dhoni has given indication that he would like to play till the 2019 World Cup, some exceptional performances by a Kohli-led team could see more pressure on the selectors to put him on the hot seat. At the very least, the pressure on Dhoni will rise, especially if India lose the few limited-over matches they play this season. In any case, while the focus is on the longer form of the game this season, there could be repercussions on the other formats as well.

How good is the bench strength?

India have a settled look about their Test squad, but by the end of this season fans will probably get a better idea of how good the bench strength is. Who are India’s top five bowlers and who are the next in line? With such a long season, there will inevitably be a few injuries and first-team team players missing out.

KL Rahul took one such opportunity and made great use of it in the West Indies. The India A squad that recently toured Australia had its share of talents like Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson and Shardul Thakur. A few of them should get a chance at some time during this season. Will they able to make good of their opportunities?