Australia’s 3-1 win over India was comfortable in the end, but there were moments when they were tested. Jasprit Bumrah was the biggest headache for Australia and the pitches were generally difficult to hit. There were some solid performances from some starters, but others were not very influential. Bench strength was a major factor in victories in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Here are some of the key takeaways from the series ahead of the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, the World Test Championship final, a tour of the West Indies and the Ashes next summer.
How long can Khawaja play?
The Australian hierarchy will argue that Khawaja had a problem, which was Bumrah. He fell to him on six occasions for 33 runs off 112 deliveries faced. He was 3 for 93 off 141 against Mohammed Siraj, falling twice to the drag shot against him. He scored 58 for 124 without losing his wicket to the other five Indian bowlers he faced. Some of the deliveries he received from Bumrah were unplayable, but the last one he received on the first night in Sydney was not one of them, where he played a very full ball that didn’t seem to deviate from the seam.
“I felt very comfortable when he was batting,” Cummins said after the win in Sydney. “He looked very confident. We also said it with Nathan McSweeney, there’s nothing harder than opening the batting on these pitches against a quality bowling attack. It’s the hardest job in cricket, and I thought he looked very good at times. .Sometimes he has very good balls. He seems to be hitting as well as any other time. [he] He didn’t get the runs he would have liked, but there are innings like today where he shows that his maturity and experience are very valuable. He also made some nice catches in the field. I’m still moving well. There is no end date on our part. “We’ll see as long as he keeps scoring some runs.”
He made some good catches late in the series but also dropped a couple in Perth. He was long thought to be needed in Sri Lanka given he was by far Australia’s best batsman on three tours to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India in 2022 and 2023. He was also Australia’s leading run-scorer in the Ashes of 2023 in England and his experience in those conditions would suggest he will be valuable for the WTC final.
Beyond that, Australia have three Tests in the West Indies in June-July at the start of a new WTC cycle before the 2025-26 home Ashes, where Khawaja will turn 39 during the third Test in Adelaide. Time will tell if age is just a number for him.
Webster and Green in the same XI?
“If they are among the top six batsmen, they can also contribute a little bit with the ball, they are both incredible gully, second and third slip fielders,” Cummins said. “Absolutely, just because [Webster is] “One SUV doesn’t mean you can’t have two.”
But the question would be how to reshape the top six to accommodate both, given the problems Australia faced last year with the same conundrum. Webster is a true No. 6, as he demonstrated on his debut and in his recent success in the Sheffield Shield. Steven Smith’s successful return to No. 4 and Travis Head’s brilliance at No. 5 create a headache for the selectors.
It is highly unlikely that Smith will reopen after his brief experiment and Head will likely only open in the subcontinent. Smith could move back to the No. 3 spot given Labuschagne’s form and his track record there as a short-term option. Australia’s selectors will only make a decision when necessary. That moment could come in June.
Boland’s commitment to being the first option
“He’s so good, Scotty. I love him,” Cummins said. “Every time he comes in, you know he’s a seasoned professional. He’s been doing it for years for Victoria, and he’s really good enough in Test cricket. He proves that time and time again. As a captain, it’s a dream, because he just “He loves to bowl. He also bowls uphill in the wind, so his numbers are probably better than what they show, but you know what you’re going to get from Scotty and he’s class every day.”
What Australia’s selectors can learn from this series is that they can be more calculated and less biased towards starting in the immediate future, especially for next year’s Ashes. Boland’s contribution especially in Melbourne and Sydney, combined with Hazlewood’s injuries and Starc’s pain at the end, showed the value of fresh legs at the end of a five-Test series. England proved this in 2023 when they brought in Mark Wood and Chris Woakes for the last three Tests and the pair dominated Australia.
Looking to the future
Australia only fielded two under-30 players during the entire series against India, but none of them featured alongside 19-year-old Konstas, who replaced 25-year-old McSweeney after three Tests. But despite concerns about the age of the team and when a transition should occur, it appears to be already underway.
The selectors have not shown any desire to retire anyone early to speed up the transition. Cummins said the future is constantly being discussed and he believes it will happen organically.
“We’ve had three debutants in this series,” Cummins said. “You’re always balancing the here and now, but you also have a little idea for the future. So those are conversations we always have. I don’t think there’s any point in doing things.” Just for the sake of it, so they can develop for years to come. But of course we’re always thinking about that.”
Alex Malcolm is associate editor of ESPNcricinfo
