Men in Blue set for another ‘filler’, this time against Kiwis

CHENNAI: A filler episode is a very common term for people who like to watch a TV series in any language. Deployed on occasions, these kind of episodes do not affect the main plot. However, they do serve a purpose or two — it builds suspense among its viewers and can act as a welcome distraction from the usually intense story arcs.

The current home international season of the Indian cricket team feels a bit like that — a very long filler. The character arcs, the plot points and the main story are well developed but there is an inordinately long wait for the story to move forward. Virat Kohli has replaced MS Dhoni as skipper, Hardik Pandya is the SOS man, the new-ball bowlers are held in high esteem, there are potentially two new spin twins at the expense of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and there is an upcoming trip to South Africa — a place where India have won two Tests in two-and-a-half decades.

All those tantalising narrative arcs will have to take a backseat as India prepare for another ODI bilateral series against New Zealand, beginning in Mumbai on Sunday. Sure, Pandya and the new-ball bowlers could excel over the next two weeks but those will merely act as glorified recaps when there is a larger picture around the corner.

Kohli, who is yet to lose a home bilateral series as skipper, did not have any such gripe when he addressed the media in a pre-match press-conference but his thinking was pretty clear — India plays way too many matches. “It’s (the schedule) become quite hectic,” he said. “... something we definitely have to sit and discuss in the future. Look at New Zealand, they haven’t played any cricket after (the) Champions Trophy, there’s been a such a good layoff and it can be the difference between doing well in a big tournament and not doing well. We are expected to perform on a consistent basis but I think the rest and the time to prepare should be adequate for athletes as well.”

Rest and time to prepare might sound like alien concepts right about now for Indians. They have played 15 matches since the Champions Trophy — just one fewer than England, South Africa, Pakistan New Zealand and Australia combined. Throw in the fact that while there are ranking points up for grabs, they mean little given the next major tournament — 2019 World Cup — has a format that sees everybody playing everybody in the group stage. And Kohli is right in that there is an expectation that India will win any cricket match in these parts (they haven’t lost an ODI series in the last 22 months).

Kiwi captain Kane Williamson also sang from the same hymn sheet. “We know that at home, in particular, they’ll be the strongest team in the world,” he said on Saturday. “There are no illusions that we need to come out and play our best cricket.” Even when they did last winter, they lost the decider to go down 2-3 (one of only two home India ODI series to have had a live rubber in the last match since the 2013-14 season).    
Once the Kiwis depart (three ODIs and as many T20Is), Sri Lanka, again, come visiting for three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. More fillers.  

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