“It’s a perfect game” – that’s how Shubman Gill responded when asked about India’s performance in the Ahmedabad Test against the West Indies. With both bat and ball, India were scratchless. That means, for the Delhi Test, India won’t have to worry about too much. But there will be two players in focus.
Will Bumrah be rested?
First will be Jasprit Bumrah. The fast bowler has been playing regularly for the last month. Many weren’t elated with his selection for the West Indies series to begin with, but after the visitors put up a no-show in Ahmedabad, you can’t really understand what India will achieve from playing Bumrah in Delhi.
Managing workload is one thing, but by playing Bumrah, India won’t achieve anything. Everyone’s well aware of what he offers. Right now, after Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, there’s a massive gap in the quality of pacers. By playing Bumrah and not giving Prasidh Krishna a chance, India’s actually causing future trouble for themselves.
If Prasidh or any other fast bowler doesn’t get to bowl in Test matches, especially at home where they don’t have much pressure to perform, how will they improve? Perhaps resting both Bumrah and Siraj would have been apt, but now the least Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill can do is rest Bumrah and play Prasidh.
Sai Sudharsan in focus
The other player would be Sai Sudharsan. After 7 Test matches, the left-handed batter averages just 21. Even in Ahmedabad, he looked out of sorts and was the only Indian batter to be dismissed for a single-digit score. Sudharsan knows the pressure is mounting on him.
India’s current assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, explained that Sudharsan realises many players are waiting for a chance. Karun Nair has already been dropped, and the same can happen to him if the performances don’t come in soon.
“I think he’s under no illusion, and you can’t hide away from the fact that you do fight for a spot in this environment. You saw Karun Nair get four Test matches in England. There are a lot of good players about to get on the heels of whoever has possession of that spot,” Doeschate said at the pre-match press conference.
Meanwhile, Gill stated that he believes Sudharsan can hold the position for a long time and that the management believes in his skills. But the Indian Test captain stated that after about 8 matches, just one less than what Sudharsan has played, they’ll assess what needs to be their next step.
“You have to give young players more opportunities. They are still trying to figure out their game. And we believe that you have to first see someone’s potential and then see their game in the entirety, not just judge someone from one, two, three, or four matches. Once you have given someone enough matches – six, seven, or eight matches – then you can sit back and have a think over it: where he needs to learn, if he needs to play some more domestic matches, or play some more India A games. But as of now, we think he’s the man for us, and he’s someone that can play for India at No. 3 for a very long time,” Gill said.
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