Updated: December 25, 2020 3:18:36 pm
Four changes to the side of a test match will normally be considered drastic, but the game XI chosen by the India team’s expert group for the Boxing Day test match is understandable in the context of the Adelaide debacle.
Shubman Gill for Prithvi Shaw, Mohammed Siraj for Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant for Wriddhiman Saha can all be called equal replacements, but the one that seems a bit radical is Ravindra Jadeja who comes in place of the regular Virat Kohli pattern. Change all the dynamics and balance of the wing. India seems to be taking the aggressive options for the Melbourne test from Saturday.
Can an all-rounder replace No. 1 hitter?
The left arm spinner’s hitting has improved considerably of late, but is not expected to contribute to Kohli’s number of runs. What he brings to the table is a fifth bowling option, probably the best in the world right now. He won’t be considered a specialty hitter, but he has shown in the past that he can come to the party when the going gets tough. And if MCG’s pace is slow and flat as it has been of late, the additional swing option will come in handy, both as a porthole capture option and as a containment option.
Look, who’s back on the networks. @imjadeja He’s here and he’s started preparing for the Boxing Day test. #TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/skKTgBOuyz
– BCCI (@BCCI) December 23, 2020
Gill for Shaw expected
Shaw’s technical deficiencies in the fields they do a bit were exposed in Adelaide. Gill is a much more solid and technically competent hitter, and his game is well suited to Australian conditions with the extra rebound. He has scored most of his first-class runs as a starter for Punjab, and a test debut is considered to be long overdue. It could protect the middle order, who already missed Kohli, from the new ball. The locker room will be a quieter place.
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Players from India before a practice session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. (BCCI)
Is Pant for Saha a gamble?
There is almost no doubt that Saha is India’s most accomplished glove, but there is a line of thinking that his skills are required more in sub-continental conditions as he takes on spinners. The Bengal player is a stubborn hitter who has scored vital runs in the past, but Pant has the ability to change a game with the bat in a short amount of time. With Kohli absent, the team’s management may have been looking for someone to take the aggressive option and put pressure on the Australian bowlers. And Pant is likely to be reliable behind the stumps against seamers. They will keep their fingers crossed so he doesn’t make any mistakes while staying on the wheels.
Siraj preferred over Saini
This is a forced change. Shami throws a heavy ball and can execute a batting order if he’s in the mood. Siraj is more of a swing bowler who can be effective if help is available. He also has a better first class and A team record than Navdeep Saini, who was the other option for this position. Siraj and Umesh Yadav can be a useful pair of new balls, keeping the Jasprit Bumrah threat as the first change. Saini would have been preferred if the launch had been expected to be faster.
Finally, what about KL Rahul?
Rahul’s pedigree with the bat is not in doubt. He’s on his third test tour of Australia and he even has a hundred there. It also gives the team management options: it can hold the grounds, hit in the middle order, or even open the hitting.
But Rahul has been a goalkeeper only in white ball games so far, and giving him the big gloves would have been a huge risk. When it comes to the opening, he has struggled in overseas conditions when the ball moves off the straight, and Gill was considered the most solid player at this stage. And since Rahul doesn’t play bowling, Jadeja gave him a real option to take wicket if conditions are favorable.
That Rahul did not appear in any of the warm-up games before the first test, it is clear that he is not quite in the expert group’s scheme when it comes to testing.
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