Ahead of the BGT 2024 Boxing Day Test against Australia, which begins on Thursday at the MCG, experienced batter Cheteshwar Pujara has expressed worries about Team India's bowling lineup, questioning their capacity to capture 20 wickets in the Test.
Pujara believes that the current combination is inadequate in comparison to the demands of a test match. Apart from Jasprit Bumrah's 21 wickets and Mohammed Siraj's 13 scalps, the rest of India's bowling arsenal has struggled to fulfill expectations.
Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Akash Deep, all touring Australia for the first time, have managed just 10 wickets collectively.
“My biggest question and the reason for a little bit of concern is that the Indian bowling is looking a little weak. Batting is a little better like the top five didn't do well, but the middle order and lower middle order, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish, and even tail-enders Bumrah and Akashdeep contributed with the bat. Now, there is a weakness in the bowling, so what will you field?” said Pujara on Star Sports.
“That is the biggest question because you can't drop Nitish, you can't drop Jadeja, so what will be the team combination? Ashwin has taken retirement, so two spinners, I don't think they will play in Melbourne. So, how will you strengthen the bowling?
Because the three seamers are very good, but their supporting role is fourth, and fifth seamer, Nitesh Kumar is the fourth seamer and Ravindra Jadeja is the fifth bowler. If you add both of them together, the bowling is not that good,” he added.
Cheteshwar Pujara feels that in order to take 20 wickets in a Test, support bowlers have to come good and India’s support bowlers have not done that.
“We will have to think about that, because if you want to win a Test match, then you have to take 20 wickets, and the ability to take 20 wickets is not that good, the supporting role of the other bowlers is not good, so we will have to improve that as soon as possible, and how that will be, I don't know, but that is a big question,” he added while speaking on Star Sports.
He praised Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who has taken 14 wickets for the hosts, and called him the best bowler for the hosts and attributing his success to improved accuracy and fewer loose deliveries.
“He has been the best bowler for them in this series. And the way Mitchell Starc has played in the last 1-1.5 years, he has brought a lot of improvement. And he has a lot of ability. If I talk about my personal experience, when he used to play in the last series in 2018 or 2021, I used to feel that if he plays against me, I will get runs.
And now, when he is playing in this series, it feels like he will take wickets. So what is the difference? The difference is that his line, length, and accuracy have increased a lot. He is bowling very less loose deliveries. He is bowling on the stumps. Every ball is hitting on the good length spot. He is getting swing. So the change he has brought in his game has made him a different player,” Pujara said.
Pujara also underlined the importance of surviving Starc's opening spell with the new ball, telling Indian batters to wear him down for a greater chance of scoring later in the game.
“He is looking more dangerous than Cummins and Hazlewood. So we will have to take care of his game, especially from the new games. In the first 5 overs, his first spell, he has taken the most wickets there. So if there is a good batting in the first 5 overs, bring him for the 2nd or 3rd spell. Because he gets tired. So the batting of the top order so far, our top order has never played him in the 3rd or 4th spell.
The ones who have played are the lower middle order and the tail-enders. And there we saw that when Bumrah and Akash were batting when Mitchell Starc was bowling, he was not that effective. So they will have to play their new game well,” Pujara concluded.
(ANI inputs)
