So the Perth Test. Well, well, well, one more edition of the BGT Trophy is upon us and it has already heated up. The Australians, be it current or former cricketers, are at their best when it comes to what Steve Waugh termed “mental disintegration”. Not just the Australian players, even the newspapers and the public in general, bat for their team and by the time the first ball is bowled, the visiting team is at the mercy of the Australian players. They are completely depressed and dejected by the start of the series and as a result, are ripe for the taking. This series is not different. Former players like Ponting, Clarke, Hayden have given their opinions about the series and about specific Indian players.
Gautham Gambhir, the combative coach, replied to them but not from a position of strength owing to the inability of his team to defeat New Zealand at home. By replying, Gambhir is actually playing into the hands of the Aussies. What is the need to respond to every jibe? It is alright if your team has been dominating the game in which case, even the Aussies will be keeping quiet. The reality is that they are not. Every non-Indian supporter is making fun of the team after the New Zealand series.
Bouncy pitch
If reports are to be believed, the curator at Perth has promised a pitch that has lots of bounce and carry. It will be music to the ears of Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Bumrah but not so for the Indian batsmen whose stocks have fallen so low that it will be considered a success even if one of them managed to score a 50. It shows the sorry state of affairs. The confidence of the Indian batsmen is so low that some of them are injured in runup to the Perth Test.
In the infamous intra-squad practice game, Rahul was hit on the finger whereas Kohli, Jaiswal and the others fell for low scores. Now, reports says that the bounce that was on offer at The WACA, wasn’t even close to the bounce where Sheffield Shield games were played. Moreover, the bounce at The Optus Stadium is expected to be even higher than this.
If this is the condition of the Indian batsmen, what are they going to do on a pitch that will bounce and seam extravagantly? Indian fans shudder to think of what is instore. We just do not want another score less than 50. Two games in 4 years is shameful enough.
Gill’s injury
To make matters worse, Shubman Gill is injured while fielding. He is ruled out of the first Test. It is another story whether Gill could have made any difference but when the first choice member is out of the Test, it sends the wrong signal down the group. As if the selectors felt that they had erred, Devdutt Padikkal, who had a reasonable outing for India A, has been asked to stay in Australia. It signifies that the remaining batsmen, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy was not good enough to replace someone who is injured. The selectors, the board and the team management have some serious explaining to do.
Ashwin or Jadeja?
This is going to be another dilemma. I would personally pick, Ashwin. Ofcourse, Jadeja is a better batsman but his number has declined over the last 3 years. Ashwin is certainly a better bowler and at The Optus, which will bounce a lot more, Ashwin with his height can come into the equation straightaway. For all the success of the Australian bowlers, spinners, Nathan Lyon has picked up a lot of wickets at a cheap rate on this ground. For the redoubtable Shane Warne, WACA was a ground where he picked up huge loads of wickets.
Ashwin’s inclusion will obviously weaken the batting. It is time to go back to the 6 batsmen formula. Gill’s injury and Rohit’s unavailability have taken away much experience. I will not mind including Sundar in the team. He has a lot of batting to offer. His bowling will not be that effective but he must be considered a proper batsman who can bowl if the need arises despite his 10-wicket haul against New Zealand.
As for Siraj, this will be one more opportunity for him to show that he belongs to this level. 80 wickets in 30 Tests is nothing short of less than ordinary. We all thought that the days of Ishant Sharma, who took wickets at 2.5 – 3 per Test at an average of 35 is long gone but Siraj has reminded us of that phase. Akash Deep has been impressive in India but his medium pace may not be that effective, especially, if he cannot swing the ball.
The batsmen
I do not know who to leave out and whom to pick because there is no difference at all. All of them are struggling with the exception of Pant. It is heartening to see Dhruv Jurel hold himself for India A. He surely has batted himself into the playing eleven. It could even be at the exception of Kohli. The rest, do not hold any hope whatsoever.
Wrapping up so the Perth Test
Australia will relish the prospect of hammering and humiliating India into submission. They will be itching to close the game in 3 das thereby sending a decisive message for the rest of the series.
Other BGT blogs
https://icricketcritique.com/the-border-gavaskar-series/
https://icricketcritique.com/australia-clearly-is-the-favourite/
https://icricketcritique.com/series-between-unequal/