Ravi Ashwin sat before the waiting media in Brisbane and gave a terse announcement of his retirement.
Less than 24 hours later, he touched down in India to a hero’s welcome, a well-deserved feat for a player who has been outstanding for Indian cricket over many years.
In the turmoil that followed Ashwin’s decision, many things were said, and much speculation was rife in the media about why he retired, the relationship between coach Gautam Gambhir and the players and many, many other things.
However, nobody wrote about how India’s quest to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was suddenly in jeopardy.
Had pundits been paying attention, several similarities exist to previous tours by excellent touring sides who were fancied to do well in Australia.
One only has to cast his mind back to the summer of 2013/2014 when an English side toured these shores and was thumped 5-0.
Indeed, the dysfunction evident in this Indian side, in many respects, mirrored the chaos in the English camp during the 2013/2014 tour.
Ravichandran Ashwin (Photo by Peter Mundy/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
That Ashes side from over a decade ago, had all the hallmarks to be successful Down Under, just as they had in their previous Australian jaunt, but they failed miserably, and not just because of Mitchell Johnson.
That English side had many similarities to this Indian side.
For starters, England brought players who had form concerns in Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior and also had concerns about their third seamer’s ability to attack the Australians.
India, in 2024, also had players with form concerns with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. There was also uncertainty about their third seamer – would Mohammed Shami return, would it be Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna or Akash Deep?
There was also talk of disunity in their rank and dissatisfaction with their coach.
England were also rocked by injuries and retirement. Trott departed early, after the first Test, having been worked over by Johnson. Graeme Swann departed mid-series having lost all feeling in his bowling hand.
Similarly, prior to coming on the tour, India lost Shami, while both Deep and Jasprit Bumrah were unable to stay injury-free, and Ashwin retired mid-series, further cruelling India’s chances.
England also suffered from a lack of creativity and leadership from the senior players, just like India.
Kevin Pietersen, once Australia’s nemesis, failed to trouble the scorers much on this tour and much has been written about how he felt disconnected on the tour.
Some senior players reported feeling that they were only playing for Alistair Cook, not just because they wanted to play. Likewise, India needed Kohli, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja to step up much sooner than they did.
Rohit needed their assistance, but they went missing when they were needed.
England also ran into an unstoppable force in Johnson just as India did in Scott Boland. Johnson, outspoken, brash and never lacking words contrasted with the quietly spoken Boland, but both men had an outsized effect on the series.
In fact, without Boland’s support, Australia could not have won the Indian series, just as Australia’s bowlers would have struggled against England.
Scott Boland celebrates the wicket of Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo by Gareth Copley-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
India failed to find a way to combat Boland effectively (although they tried hard) just as England struggled to combat Johnson.
For a touring side to be successful in Australia, they need to have a clear plan as to how they are going to win.
To India’s credit, they came up with a successful strategy to attack Nathan Lyon, and his impact was largely blunted in the series.
Touring sides need a lot of luck with injury as well as clear-headed thinking as to their replacements. India had that when they won in 2020/2021.
Touring sides also need resilience. India’s collapse in Melbourne spoke to a decreased mental toughness from previous tours.
Whether it was an inevitability (as England succumbed to at the SCG in the 2013/14 Ashes) that they would eventually lose, frustration with some exceptional bowling or a lack of clear-headedness. India’s strength was sapped and they needed a strong coach and captain to instil it back into them. They got neither.
For England’s Ashes tour to be successful next summer, they need to pick players in form, have some luck with injuries, find a captain who is not afraid to take the game to Australia, and some batters who are willing to attack and persevere with their tactics even if they do not work the first several times.
Time will tell whether this current English crop has the stamina to tour Australia.
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