There is a lot of buzz around India’s upcoming Test tour of Australia. The two teams are slated to square off in a five-match series, starting November 22 in Perth.
India have won the last two Test series Down Under, while they have held onto the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy since March 2017. But the situation is a lot different this time around as they have arrived in Australia on the back of a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home.
India now need to win four out of five Tests on Australian soil to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final without depending on other teams.
Ahead of the marquee series, India’s team composition has become a major topic of debate. The visitors could pull off a surprise in the first Test at the Optus Stadium.
According to a report published in The Indian Express, India might play Ravichandran Ashwin as the lone spinner ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
The change in the team management’s stance came because of the presence of at least three left-handers in Australia’s batting line-up.
Both the teams are likely to go with a four-pronged pace attack, with the Perth curator set to serve a green pitch for the BGT opener. Unlike the hosts, who only have Nathan Lyon in the squad as a premier spinner, the choice is not that simple when it comes to picking a spin-bowling all-rounder for India.
Over the years, Jadeja has pipped Ashwin to feature in India’s playing XI in overseas conditions due to his superior batting skills, but the scenario might change in Perth.
The report further claimed that India are likely to go ahead with three specialist fast bowlers, one specialist spinner in Ashwin and a seam-bowling all-rounder.
The presence of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the squad makes India's job easier. The tourists did not have an out-and-out seam-bowling all-rounder when they visited Australia last time. On this occasion, the youngster from Andhra Pradesh is likely to get the nod.
With Reddy’s inclusion as the fourth seamer, India can do away with the headache of picking the better batter among Ashwin, Jadeja and Sundar. It allows the Indian think tank to focus on a spinner who can be used as an attacking option against the Australian left-handers - Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Alex Carey.
"The new team management under head coach Gautam Gambhir seems to believe in match-ups. When India played New Zealand at home a few weeks ago, they called up Washington after initially not selecting him, looking at the Kiwis batting lineup, which also had a variety of left-handers at the top,” the report stated.
The specialist seamers in the Indian XI are set to be Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep. There was a possibility of Harshit Rana receiving his Test cap, but if India opt to go with Ashwin, then picking a fourth seamer who can bat becomes imperative.
