Big score from Vijay just round the corner, reckons Kumble

Big score from Vijay just round the corner, reckons Kumble

In India's last five Test matches, they've had four different opening combinations thanks to repeated injuries to key players. Throughout this phase though, one half of the opening combination that has stayed put has been M Vijay. He too though, over the last five innings, has battled some indifferent form. Just before that he had made a hundred in Rajkot.

Dismissals against short balls are becoming a pattern for Vijay although he's looked far from uncomfortable while facing them. Anil Kumble, India's head coach, however, brushed aside suggestions that the short-ball is becoming a worrying weakness. "He (Vijay) is someone who we certainly believe in. It is just round the corner for him to get a big score. He did that in the first innings of this series.

"We certainly have that with us when we go out in the nets and try and help him with that particular delivery but I don't really think we need to go too deep into why he is getting out that way. It is just a matter of time when he will start scoring runs and he has been the most consistent, so we certainly believe that it is just round the corner," said Kumble, throwing his weight behind the opener.

Talking of weights, Kumble also dismissed a suggestion that increase in injuries is due to the extra time spent in the gym by the players. Answering a question specific to comments made by a former player (Dilip Vengsarkar), Kumble went on to highlight the effects of such training.

"I don't know. I am not really sure, I did see the report. All I can say is that the fitness parameters of the current Indian team is the best that it has ever been. I have played in the 90s where fitness and strength conditioning was a personal choice and not a team choice. In the 2000s, the culture changed and you could see the difference of a team in the 2000s and now it is part and parcel of modern cricket.

"I probably was my fittest after I came back from my shoulder injury, in terms of my strength, in terms of what I could do on the field, recover quickly, and as I was ageing I had to do more. I am sure it is a personal opinion, but as a coach and also the current Indian coaching staff and the strength and conditioning coach, plus the physio, we are happy to sit and clarify because Dilip is someone whom we really respect and he also holds a very responsible position as the director of the National Cricket Academy.

"And I think it is important that since we are in Mumbai, we definitely won't mind to sit and have a chat because in modern-day cricket, injuries are part and parcel of the game. The injuries that we had are hamstring injuries, which are very common not just in cricket but in any sport and it has all been cricketing injuries.

"Unfortunately, Hardik (Pandya) got injured in the nets when he got hit by a ball, otherwise Rahul got hit fielding at short leg, Vijay got hit when he was batting and so did Shikhar. It is something that we've got to live with, but the good part is that the Indian team has really stood up and the people who have come in have contributed to the success of the team," explained Kumble.

Apart from increase in fitness levels, he also explained how managing the fast bowlers was key to them performing well for longer durations, albeit in a different context.

"Workload is something that we monitor, especially for (Mohammad) Shami because he came back 18 months after being away from the game. It is not easy for any cricketer so that is something we are constantly monitoring. It is quite a challenge where you only have three-four days gap between Test matches and this series has gone till the last day of the matches so it is important that these guys are given enough breaks.

"But credit to the way Shami and Umesh have bowled, not just with the new ball but also what is really creditable has been the way they have been able to come back and bowl in the last hour of the day, coming back in the third spell or probably sometimes the fourth spell, really rattling the batsmen and picking up the wickets. That is something I am pleased about," he said.

The last time India played against England, in 2014, a similar string of injuries resulted in an embarrassing whitewash. The pinch hasn't been as painful this time around, thanks to the replacements filling in more than adequately, like Parthiv Patel in Mohali, who had to double up as a replacement wicket-keeper and opener. For Kumble, the attitude has come as a welcome change.

"Even when he first came in as a 16 or 17-year-old - even today he looks 16 without the beard - he has showed a lot of maturity. The first time when he walked out in India colours, he saved the Test match for India. It certainly shows that if you are really putting in the hard yards in domestic cricket, never losing your faith and believing that you can come back into the Indian team, then it is possible.

"I was really pleased that he could walk into the match and not just keep wickets and bat at 6 or 7 but when he was asked to open, he put his hand up and did that really well. That goes to show not just the individual but the character of the player and to say team comes above self. He was not worried about failing, when you are coming into the team, making a comeback after eight years, you always want to do well for yourself but here was Parthiv who was willing to put his hand up and said 'I don't mind opening' and he did that really well. That shows the character of the player and I am really pleased with that," said Kumble.