Team India’s highly-anticipated Test tour of Australia is all set to get underway on November 22 in Perth. In their last two tours, they had performed exceptionally well to clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.
However, the situation is a lot different this time around as the Indian team has landed in Australia on the back of a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home.
The Rohit Sharma-led side lost the three consecutive Test matches in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. This outcome also marked the end of their remarkable streak of 18 consecutive home Test series victories.
India now need to win four out of five Tests in Australia to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final without depending on other teams.
With less than a week remaining for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, former head coach Ravi Shastri has shared his thoughts on what India’s XI could be for the first Test.
India’s team composition has become a major topic of debate as there is a possibility of skipper Rohit missing the series opener.
Although the likes of KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran can partner young Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the batting order, Shastri believes promoting regular No.3 Shubman Gill to the role of opener might be the best call on the likely bouncy wicket in Perth.
“That's a tough one and selectors have a choice. You can push Shubman (Gill) back up the order and he has opened in the past in Australia,” Shastri said on the most recent episode of The ICC Review.
“Otherwise, you'll have to then make an alternative. Easwaran hasn't done that well (for India A in Australia). But it's how he's batting in the nets, how Rahul is batting in the nets. But that Shubman Gill option is also there,” he added.
Shastri, who was the coach of the Indian team that won the two successive Test series Down Under in 2018/19 and 2020/21, is a strong believer of picking players that perform well in the nets leading up to a Test match.
"I used to always watch footwork as a coach," he said. "Sometimes runs are not important, but if a player is moving well, and if the feet are moving nicely, and you try and understand his game and you realize if he has the game for those conditions, if he has the right kind of shots for those kinds of pitches. These are the things you've got to look at when you start picking a side overseas.
"It's horses for courses in many ways. Most of the team will pick themselves, but there'll be one or two cases where you might have to just go and dig deep and go with gut feeling.
"I would be watching them like a hawk in the nets, the batters and the bowlers, because for me as a bowler, rhythm is important. And as a batter, again, tempo and rhythm is important."
Shastri also advocated for young Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion in India’s playing XI for the Perth Test. The wicketkeeper-batter impressed everyone with knocks of 80 and 68 in India A’s second unofficial Test against Australia A at MCG.
"I think he can easily play as a (specialist) batter,” Shastri said. “What impressed me most was his temperament, his calmness when the chips were down and the tightness he brought to his game - especially under pressure.
“Under pressure, you can see a lot of players struggling. You can see them being fidgety. You can see them being all over the shop. You can see those nerves coming through. But in this guy's case, his temperament stood out.
"Whenever the chips were down, even in that series against England (earlier this year) he stepped up to the plate. So I like what I saw and I'll be quite prepared to give him a go if he's in good nick.
"I think seeing his form, he got 80 and 60, will do his confidence a world of good.
“And he's got the range of shots as well. It's not that he's just a blocker there, he can play shots. He can bat with the tail as well. See, that's why it becomes important. If you push Shubman up the order, it gives you more options in the middle order. So that's how India could look to balance it if Rohit is missing."
Ravi Shastri believes only one specialist spinner is required in Perth and he preferred Ravindra Jadeja over R Ashwin.
"I would go with one spinner," Shastri suggested. "I was in Perth last year when Pakistan played Australia. And in those conditions, to have two spinners is a luxury. You need pace because that track has pace and bounce. And you need the bowlers to exploit it and keep the pressure on the batsman. Because even if you're talking of spin, you use them sporadically. It was always a tough choice, even when I was the coach.
"For which one to pick now, Ashwin or Jadeja. So then again, it's current form over there. Jadeja brings a lot to the table with his fielding as well as batting. So he would get the edge more often than not overseas. But it's again how they see it and what the form looks like in the nets.”
Shastri picked Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and uncapped all-rounder Nitesh Reddy as the four pace-bowling options in his XI.
"I think the three I would pick straight away is Aakash Deep, (Mohammed) Siraj and Bumrah and then they (selectors) have to see the balance,” Shastri began.
“Do they want two spinners? Do they want to risk going in with two spinners or do they want to take Nitesh Reddy? Nitesh Reddy will have to do a job like Shardul Thakur did as the fourth seamer. He can bat a bit, give the bowlers a little bit of respite so that they can bowl in short spells…and be someone who will have to be good for those eight to 10 overs that he bowls. So that would be my pick, seeing the conditions."
Ravi Shastri's predicted XI for Perth Test: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja/Washington Sundar, Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.
