India have had the problem of plenty for so many years but it has gone a notch up in the recent past as now the team management has to take massive decisions that can put careers at stake and can have a long term impact on the overall state of the side.
The Virat Kohli-led team have struggled severely due to the poor form of their number three, four and five in the last two years. None of them has had a commanding series or extended period of success with the bat and it has put enormous pressure on the openers and the lower order to rescue team every now and then.
Their problems and “headache” compounded when the players who were sitting on the fringe grabbed opportunities with both hands and put the senior players who have become non-performing assets on the edge of their seats.
As skipper Kohli opted out of the first Test and Rohit Sharma sought rest from the entire series against New Zealand, reportedly India were eager to try Shubman Gill in the middle order behind their vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. However, an injury to KL Rahul forced them to bring Gill back to the top of the order and handed Shreyas Iyer a Test debut.
As has been the case in the recent past for Indian players, Iyer grabbed the opportunity and hit a magnificent hundred and fifty in two innings to make a strong claim for himself in the middle order.
When Kohli returned, he and Rahul Dravid had to take a tough call of choosing one among Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer for the two middle-order slots on either side of his number four position. However, an injury that sparked speculation and controversy, helped the team management with some time to decide on the future of Rahane, who has scored runs at an abysmal average of 24.39 runs per innings in the last 16 Tests.
Now, Rohit and Rahul are all set to return for the tour of South Africa and India have Mayank Agarwal ready in the form to occupy the seat on the flight as the backup opener.
It leaves only the middle-order slot for Gill, and that too in a two-way competition with Iyer and Rahane but Kohli suggested that there are a lot of issues and “discussion” to happen before zeroing in on Gill for the middle-order role.
He said that the tour of South Africa will be a big challenge and he would want to embark on the tour only after ensuring absolute clarity on the roles each player are supposed to play on the tour.
"Those are discussions we are going to have now with the selectors," he said. "It is a good headache to have but you always want clarity in these things. And understand that it is always great to know exactly what you want to do before you head into a series like South Africa. Those things are very important to address, and we are going to have discussions straight away when we get to the hotel now."
"That's a discussion that needs to take place: who we think are specialists in certain positions," Kohli said. "These are not things I can sit here and answer in a press conference. You need discussions on these things, you need to analyse what is best for the team and the individuals as well, and come to a common conclusion.
"More often than not, issues are discussed, and we come to a collective decision, which feels the most balanced. That's the same process we are going to follow moving forward as well. It is upon lengthy discussions where everyone puts in their ideas."