India is set to play 10 Test matches before the Champions Trophy. Many players might get the opportunity to represent India in the longest format of the game. India is in search of a fast bowler to partner with Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj. I don't think they will look to select Shardul Thakur now. Let us now dive deep into what can be the game strategies, plans, and probable squad.
PROBABLE SQUAD FOR BANGLADESH TEST:
- Rohit Sharma (Captain)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Virat Kohli
- Shubman Gill
- Rishabh Pant (WK)
- Dhruv Jurel (WK)
- Sarfaraz Khan
- Rajat Patidar
- Axar Patel
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Washington Sundar
- Mohammed Siraj
- Mohammed Shami* (subject to fitness)
- Akash Deep
(Note: Bumrah and Kuldeep might be rested)
The team looks balanced with a combination of experienced and young players. KL Rahul can be fitted into the squad in place of Patidar, but I don't think India is looking toward him. The same goes for Shreyas Iyer. According to recent news, some senior Indian players are going to play first-class cricket, so the selection might depend on their performance.
CHANGE OF MINDSET IN GG ERA?
I don't feel there is any need to change the mindset. I personally don't support the Bazball approach in Test cricket. But Jaiswal, Pant, Rohit, and Sarfaraz will play attacking cricket, while Virat, Gill, Jadeja, and Axar will play their natural game. This is a good strategy—no one needs to change their style of playing cricket. England made the mistake of asking everyone to play attacking; they should have let players like Joe Root play naturally. Some players need to change their technique to play against spin (especially Virat), which will result in setting a respectable first-innings score.
To conclude, there is no need to change the mindset—just the technique, which will yield results.
WHO WILL PLAY THE ROLE OF PUJARA?
Who can fill Pujara's shoes at No.3? Currently, Gill plays at No.3, but is he the right choice? You need a player at 3 who is firm with his defense. If you ask any Australian bowler, they will say Pujara is a nightmare for them. Aussies will be more than happy to see Pujara out of the Indian Test team. In the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Trophy, he faced 1258 balls in the series, the highest for a visiting batsman who played four Tests in a series in Australia, and scored three centuries to bat Australia's bowling into submission. He played a massive role in both the BGT wins for India on Australian soil. His defensive batting, when Pant was attacking on the other side, frustrated the Aussies in the Gabba as well as the Sydney Test match. Hanuma Vihari was a similar kind of player, but currently, he is not being considered. Gill averages 23.6 batting at No.3, not a great record.
Who else can bat at 3 then? Maybe Rajat Patidar is a pretty good player of spin. Although he had a very bad England tour of India series, averaging only 10.5 in the 3 matches he played, I think he should be asked to play at No.3 ahead of Gill. Other than him, I see no other option now. For the future, Vishnu Vinod may do that work for you. Even Abhimanyu Easwaran and Priyank Panchal are great options.
FAST BOWING OPTIONS OR BGT?
How many fast bowlers are ready to play? Before BGT, we have 2 Test series but both in India. For BGT, you have your 3 fast bowlers ready: Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj. But who will be the 4th pacer? Can Hardik come into the Test side? He may come if he is bowling fit. Hardik will bring more stability because of his all-round ability. He is definitely an option to be considered as the 4th bowling option.
I want BCCI to consider bowlers from the domestic circuit who have been playing for a long time. I would say Rajneesh Gurbani is the best fit for Australian conditions. Gurbani is a throwback to a young Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Lithe and wiry, Gurbani relies heavily on swing: his stock delivery is the one that leaves the right-hander. He isn't express—his average speed hovers around 130-135 kph—but manages skiddy pace, which makes him dangerous in front of the stumps. He is also capable of consistently finding subtle movement off the pitch.
Next is Sandeep Warrier. He is an excellent pace bowler with a lot of experience. He has played 75 First Class matches and has 241 wickets, averaging 25.42. He has the pace needed in Australian conditions.
If the news is to be trusted, India is considering Arshdeep for BGT. Not an ideal choice, I feel. We should consider performance based on First Class cricket. Other bowlers who are already on BCCI's list are Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Shardul Thakur, and Prasidh Krishna.
MORNE MORKEL APPOINTED AS BOWLING COCH OF INDIA
Just now Morne Morkel has been announced as bowling coach of India. However, Morne Morkel has a very bad record as a coach. He was coaching Pakistan and Lucknow in the IPL and had not done anything exciting. Bowlers win you the tournament. KKR in the recently concluded IPL had a strong batting line-up, but in bowling, there was no one except Starc (on paper). It was Bharat Arun who made bowlers like Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora lethal. So, choosing the right bowling coach is important. Let us see how Morne Morkel carries the legacy of Paras Mhambrey.
DULEEP TROPHY SQUADS OUT NOW:
The four squads for the first round of the Duleep Trophy are as below:
Team A: Shubman Gill (C), Mayank Agarwal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Vidwath Kaverappa, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat.
Team B: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant, Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (WK).
Team C: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Umran Malik, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (WK), Sandeep Warrier.
Team D: Shreyas Iyer (C), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (WK), Saurabh Kumar.
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THANK YOU,
ADVAIT KADAM
(Sports Management student)
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