The much awaited and much anticipated series of the recent times, between India and Australia will start from the 3rd week of February. Australia will be riling after a couple of successive series loss to India at home whereas India will be buoyant by the incredible fact that they have not lost a series to Australia in almost 9 years. A scarcely believable statistic. However, this series promises to be different with a resurgent Australia on the back of a successful Asian leg in 2022 and outstanding home season. India on the otherhand, is low in confidence with their top and middle order batting. Now that the team for the first and second tests are announced, who will be part of the Indian team?
The opening combination
Rohit Sharma will definitely start on the basis of him being the captain and by far, he has been a noteworthy success at the Test level ever since the South African home series. He played no mean part in the drawn series in England and perhaps, just perhaps, if only he had been present against South Africa, India could have won that elusive series. Having said that, he is short of proper red-ball practice. It has been close to a year since he last played a Test. Against the marauding Aussies, will he be able to adjust and then flourish?
Instead of playing the meaningless limited-overs series, he must have been directed to play in the Ranji games going on currently. It could have prepared him for tough battles ahead. However, in their own wisdom, the selectors and Rohit himself decided to opt against. Whether this ridiculous decision comes back to bite Rohit in the back, remains to be seen.
His partner will anyway be Rahul. Rahul is someone who saps the confidence of an entire team. He hardly gets the ball off the square and takes a very longtime to settle down. If at all he survives the initial overs, he is never on the lookout for runs. He is a strokeless wonder at the crease. If the Aussies can string together a series of good overs, they can have him for breakfast. I would rather open with Shubman Gill. He is in excellent form in limited overs cricket. Ofcourse, it is not a guarantee that he can transfer that form onto Test cricket. It must also be remembered that he has failed to deceive far too often. Be that as it may, I will play Gill ahead of Rahul anyday. He is not someone who is afraid to play his shots.
The middle order
The trio of Pujara, Kohli and Rahane were a huge failure over the last 3 years. Rahane has rightly been dropped but Pujara is back in the team on the basis of the mountain of runs that he scored in the English County Championship though he struggled again in the final test at Edgbaston. It shows the quality of the attack in Division 2. However, his hundred against Bangladesh must have saved him. The problem with Pujara is that, as soon as he is up against a challenging attack, he goes on the ultra-defensive mode. He can stay at the wicket for as long as he likes but will not have runs to show for it. Personally, I will not want Pujara in the team but I do not think that he will be dropped.
Kohli is another who could have benefitted from a stint for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. He again chose against it. Though his white-ball cricket has returned, Test cricket remains troublesome for him as evidenced by the strokeless innings in Bangladesh. The one change I would like to see is for Kohli to walk-in the fall of the first wicket and Pujara at number 4.
Shreyas Iyer will slot in at number 5. His ability against spin is unquestioned. He will be a vital batsman against the class bowler, Lyon. If he can dominate Lyon, he will help India to win the series. However, his inability against bouncers, which he hasn’t yet found a solution for, is a concern. Cummins, Starc, Boland and Hazlewood will definitely exploit this weakness.
The wicket keeper
Both Ishan Kishan and Bharat are unknown commodities though Bharat has lot more first class experience. Both are attacking batsmen. Whereas Bharat hasn’t played at the highest level in any format, Ishan has experience of T20 and ODI cricket with a double hundred to boot. The main consideration will be who will be an effective keeper against the likes of the spinners? It is a difficult choice. If Jadeja is ruled out, Ishan is the only lefthander in the squad. Will the management select Rahul as the keeper?
The spinners
The series is played in India. Ashwin walks-in quite easily. His improved batting is a great bonus. All eyes will be on Jadeja. He hasn’t played a competitive game in 5 months. He is set t appear for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy. It is a good move but a solitary game be enough to judge his form and fitness? Fitness may not be a problem but what about form? With the whole top and middle order struggling, does it make sense to keep Jadeja? I would atleast ask him to play 3-4 of Ranji games and will not consider him for the first test. In such a scenario, I will have one more batsman and it will probably be Surya Yadav.
The bowlers
It is quite easy. Siraj & Shami selects themselves. If Jadeja is not considered and with the addition of a 6th batsman, I will want Kuldeep in the side.
Wrapping up who will be part of the Indian team?
The pitch at Nagpur is likely to turn and as such, it will be enough to go in with just 2 fast bowlers who can be rotated consistently. Jadeja will provide a lot of balance but does he have the form to be selected? Rahul must not play but as we all know, the defacto captain will play.