India need depth and security of R Ashwin for this England Test, not Shardul Thakur's frenzy

The 145-year history of Test cricket has had 13 men scoring 300 or more runs in a series of a minimum of three games while also operating with a strike-rate of 100 and above. Only one of them before matched the level of consistency and the remarkable explosiveness that Jonny Bairstow achieved over New Zealand in this series. 

Blasting 77 and 95-ball hundreds in successive Tests at Trent Bridge and Leeds, he dominated a quality opposition attack on his way to 394 runs, made at a gigantic strike-rate of 120.12. 

Provided the surfaces for the series were not as venomous as they have been at the start of English summers previously, this was still an incredible assault that perhaps symbolised this England's approach. 

When even Joe Root starts to reverse scoop Neil Wagner for a boundary over the slip cordon, you know Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum are combining to form an ultra-aggressive mentality that is catching up with their players. 

In only a few days' time, at Edgbaston, India will get to taste what New Zealand felt being at the receiving end. It maybe argued that the Kiwis didn't have the tools to push England batters back with pace and bounce, but one thing is for certain, they will opt for the attacking option regardless of the quality of the challenge.

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India will have to be prepared to be taken on rather than wait for England to wilt under the pressure, for this opposition is different in mentality to the battered and bruised side they faced last summer into achieving a 2-1 Test series lead. 

Ultimately, though, it's about sustained quality bowling, which the Black Caps often lacked with their resources. If India can maintain a better leash over run-scoring and produce more wicket-taking balls, who knows England may find it too difficult to persist with their newfound method? 

With 'sustained' quality and pressure being the key factor, it becomes paramount for India to be as precise and spot on with their bowling plans for the Test match. The Leicester warm-up at Grace Road offered the tourists a glimpse of what they lack when they miss the control of an Ishant Sharma in foreign conditions. 

With Ishant out, and the likes of Mohammed Siraj or Prasidh Krishna not yet capable of stitching together consistent spells below 2.5 an over, the spotlight goes firmly on Shardul Thakur and his role as the fourth seamer. Usually, fourth seamers are meant to offer an attack a sense of calmness to the scoreboard and the proceedings. Thakur went for over 4 an over versus Leicester and has an overall career economy rate of 3.28. 

Thakur has 26 wickets in 13 innings and averages 21.03 with the ball in hand. But it's important when we talk of cricketers to speak in context of the roles they are playing within the side and how much their presence influences the fortunes of the rest of the supporting cast. 

With Thakur operating at nearly 3.5 an over, it begs a question for how long can India afford him to work in such extremes? Especially in foreign conditions where runs are at absolute premium for their batters and against a side that is prepared to take their mainstays on. 

In his 13 innings worth of bowling for India, only thrice has Thakur not conceded 2.75 or more runs an over. In eight of those, he has gone well over 3 an over. The day he falters, he falters very bad and that means the rest of the attack, led by Jasprit Bumrah, has to do heavier loading than they would ideally need to. 

And that is simply not a sustainable ploy if you're an Indian team that is going through a mini-transition with its attack, as Ishant's absence pushes Siraj and Krishna higher up the reckoning and demands them to attain a level of consistency which they're perhaps not yet ready for. 

All of this makes it almost mandatory for India to consider going back to the safety net of Ravichandran Ashwin, who has never been more primed for overseas excellence than he is today. Facing misplaced criticism for the series in South Africa, the great off-spinner played his role as a defensive spin option to all the perfection, going at 2.86 an over in perhaps the most seam-friendly set of pitches dished out to the Indians. Only Bumrah (2.68) was more economical than him. 

Ashwin taking three wickets at 60.66 in that series shouldn't make us overlook the fact that he was the best averaging spinner in the world in 'SENA' countries over the past four years. In the timeframe from the beginning of 2018 till the end of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Ashwin took 43 wickets in the SENA countries at 28.23, going for 2.47 runs an over. No spinner was as incisive while being as precise as the Indian maestro. 

In a rain-marred WTC final, where seamers ruled the roost, Ashwin bagged figures of 2/28 in 15 overs and 2/17 in 10 overs. Yet, when the time came for the Pataudi Trophy, India went Thakur-experimenting, leaving Ashwin down on the bench, left to rue his great misfortune and battle an angst within against the decision-makers. 

In a phase where he is hitting his career peak in terms of sheer control over his craft, Ashwin is being made to sit on the sidelines and watch Thakur operate with his frenzy and dramatics, upholding a risk-driven approach when India could do with some precision and calmness. 

And this doesn't even account for the vastly superior batting and solidity Ashwin offers to the table. Thakur's three fifty-plus scores at the Gabba and The Oval, as influential as they were and we shall always be grateful for their affluence and impact, haven't really made him a dependable batter at the Test level. He still averages only 22.63 and plays out 27 balls per innings, which is simply not good enough even as a No.8 and forces the specialist batting alongside him to take more risks than he ideally would. 

With a weak tail at their disposal from No.9-11, it's baffling to think India have been leaving themselves so vulnerable to lower-order collapses when they have the option of picking a No.8 who averages 27 at the Test level, with 5 hundreds under his belt and offers proven batting potential to the side. 

Ashwin is definitely no longer a No.7, especially overseas, as India found out in South Africa. But he is a very capable No.8 still and could be pivotal to the team's cause if he gets time in the middle batting alongside a Ravindra Jadeja at No.7. 

India will have to decide, then, whether they want to counter this England team's threat with the frenzy and the high-risk nature of the Thakur ploy or give themselves a greater safety net with the depth and security that Ashwin offers.