For the first time since taking over as India captain and head coach, Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir won’t have many selection headaches. Although Gill assumed the position in May, Gambhir worried about the team composition in Australia and against New Zealand at home. Then in England, both had to ponder about going batting or bowling-heavy.
But for the first time, they won’t have much to worry about. For starters, the West Indies virtually pose no threat. Neither the bowlers nor the batters had to work hard in the Ahmedabad Test. On a balanced track, the match ended in fewer than 8 sessions. Such was the disparity between the teams.
Prasidh Krishna to replace Jasprit Bumrah?
Perhaps the only thing Gill and Gambhir will need to discuss is Jasprit Bumrah. The express fast bowler had little to no turnaround in between the Asia Cup and the India vs West Indies Test series. We still don’t know what the reasoning was behind Bumrah playing at home.
One understood that managing Bumrah’s workload was at the top of the priority list. But why was he then played against one of the weakest Test teams in the West Indies? If the idea was that Bumrah gets into rhythm, since he was off-colour in the Asia Cup, then that checkbox has been ticked.
Resting Bumrah doesn’t just ensure that he remains fresh for the upcoming India vs Australia T20I series but also means that Prasidh Krishna will get to play his first home Test. For some time now, we’ve been talking about how, after Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, India hasn’t got quality pacers.
Prasidh promises to be one of them. But unlike Ishant and Shami, the tall pacer hasn’t been given the time to improve. He needs to work on his skills and gain experience. This can only happen if he plays. By resting Bumrah, this can be done. So, India will be killing two birds with one stone.
Devdutt Padikkal to get a chance?
Currently, India is playing with three all-rounders. Despite moderate success, this method doesn’t seem to be successful all over the globe. When India travels to New Zealand next year, they won’t be able to play Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Most probably, one of Jadeja and Sundar will have to sit out. India needs to test some players to play at number six. Jadeja might be doing the job now, but he’ll retire sooner rather than later. Karun Nair couldn’t succeed at the role in England, and they should ideally try Devdutt Padikkal at the position.
The question would be, who do you drop? At the moment, and especially in India, Jadeja can’t be dropped. Nitish offers something that no one does, as he’s a pace-bowling all-rounder. That leaves Sundar. To better prepare for the future, Gambhir and Gill might have to rest him, but if they feel Sundar can be that number six batter, they might just persist with him.
India Test squad for West Indies
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Narayan Jagadeesan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
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