Good ole days are here again

And now we lead 2-0 in the Test series against West Indies, looking for a clean sweep. Now detractors may point out that it's against a low ranked team on home soil. However, the adding of more players to the Indian talent pool is going to be a key for the future.

New Spin Options

The Indian spin department was in the doldrums after the retirement of Anil Kumble and the loss of form of Harbhajan Singh. But that is no longer the case. Pragyan Ojha has taken 55 wickets in 13 matches, while R Ashwin has taken 13 wickets in two matches.

They look a good bet for the Australia tour. Whenever Bhajji does return, you can be sure that he will be really hungry for wickets and look for a major personal revival. Either way it's a win-win situation for India.

The Pace Talent Pool

India's biggest problem in the pace department has been injuries. That's why we have had 6-8 pacers and one never knows which 2-3 will play any particular match.

Well, that pool was getting depleted with Irfan Pathan looking as good as retired, Ashish Nehra touching 33, RP Singh looking nowhere in sight and S Sreesanth still not showing the correct temperament despite getting so many second chances.

But Vidarbha pacer Umesh Yadav picked up seven wickets on a dead Eden Garden pitch to show that he has what it takes to join India's pace pool. With Varun Aaron (who could be India's fastest) waiting in the wings, things are looking up for the pace department.

Batting Form Revival

Our batting greats are also getting good practice before the Australia tour. One of the biggest disasters of the England tour was our opening pair. Well, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have given us three straight half-century stands so far.

It had been more than a year since VVS Laxman scored a century. That way, his Man-of-the-Match knock of 176 not out will go a long way to boost his confidence. Not that he needed it: his umpteen half-centuries have won us many a match.

2011 has been a dream year for Rahul Dravid with close to 1000 runs and five centuries. He's looking good for a few more years. And his catching continues to be as sharp as ever as the last two of his 209 Test catches have shown!

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It is also imperative that Sachin Tendulkar gets his Mahashatak (hundredth international hundred) if not for his sake, then at least for the country, for most of Tendulkar's centuries come in clumps. If he can get one before the Australia tour, then he'll most probably get 3-4 Down Under.

On to Australia

This may also well be the last tour to Australia for the Big Three of Sachin, Rahul and VVS. That will definitely spur them to get our first ever Test series win there.

Captain MS Dhoni still has one more Test and five ODIs (with the West Indies) to tinker with to finalize the squad for the all-important tour.

No matter what happens to Australia in their second Test against South Africa, they have never been so vulnerable. They have won only two of their last 12 Test matches and their 21/9 against South Africa is something which even Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have never plummeted to.

The iron is hot: This is our best chance of beating the former world champions on their home turf!

The author is a Bengaluru-based journalist and blogger.

He blogs at http://sunilrajguru.com/