India cannot just come here and swing the ball: Andy Bichel

Andy Bichel knows the English conditions as well as Ian Botham. Having played here for years, representing Essex, Hampshire and Worcestershire, the former Australia all-rounder has a fair idea about the length and line to bowl to the batsmen here.

He was a master of both swing and reverse swing.The Queenslander has followed the ongoing India-England series closely and felt that the Indian bowlers are pitching it a little short to the English batsmen.

He thinks by keeping the ball a little further up, S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma can achieve more success.

“What let them down is their length. They are bowling a little bit short.  That is across the board. I’ve not watched every ball, but that is the impression I get. They can do well by keeping the ball a little further up,” he told DNA.

But Bichel, currently in the Northern Ireland as a coach of Papua New Guinea for the ongoing qualifiers for next year’s Junior World Cup, thought the Indians will have to work hard to achieve the right mix in line, length and swing.

“It is hard work. You cannot just come here and swing the ball or control the swing. The Indians, I found, are a little inexperienced in these English conditions. That is why they are being exposed. It is a real interesting cycle. A plenty of guys will tell you, the ball swings and seams around. It does do that. But it can also be very flat.”

He hoped the Indians will learn from their experience in the first two Tests. “Look, it’s a learning curve. With Zaheer Khan leading the attack, it will be a good learning curve for these guys. They are a little bit exposed but with time, they will learn. They are wonderful bowlers but they need a little experience. They need to know when the ball will move  in a normal way and when it will reverse. You need every bit of experience and hopefully after the two Tests, they would have learnt the tricks. Eric (Simmons, India’s bowling coach) is a very experienced coach and he will give the right advice. But you can only do so much. Two nil down in the series and two to play, it is an interesting time.”

Bichel was also of the view that India have the ability to bounce back in the series.

“It is real test of their skill and character. It’s a nice tag to be No 1 in Test cricket, nice to be 50-over world champions. They were Twenty20 world champions only a few years ago. So, they keep on producing the results over and over.”

According to Bichel, since India became No 1, they became the target of every side. “Once you are the No 1 side in the world, everything becomes harder. They fought so hard to be No 1, they fought so hard to be the world champions. Now, they are struggling a bit because they are facing a hot side. India are being tested by a team that is playing pretty good cricket. England, having won some excellent games, will be desperate to get to the No 1 position. The real test of their character will be to step up and perform. Some of the guys (in the Indian team) are at the back end of their careers.”

Bichel, being the bowling coach of Chennnai Super Kings, knows a thing or two about MS Dhoni’s captaincy and thinks the India skipper faces a real challenge to inspire the team in the times of adversity.

“I think Dhoni is a very good captain and is doing a very good job at this stage. England have got momentum, a lot of momentum in fact. So, it is a real test of MS’s leadership. It could be a little bit fragile for India at this stage but it is a real test of his leadership to get through the situation,” he said.

Bichel’s team is doing well and the Australian is confident that PNG will be one of the six teams that will qualify for next year’s Junior World Cup. Six of the 10 teams — Ireland, Scotland, Afghanistan, Nepal, US, Canada, Namibia, Kenya and Vanuatu besides PNG — qualify for the tournament that ends on August 9.

“I’m hoping to meet Dhoni and some of the teammates when I’m in India for the Champions League T20 next month,” he said. “Hopefully, I will have some good things to share with them.”