Ravindra Jadeja was in a jovial mood as he relaxed in the chair after a long batting session. The pads were still on and he had captain Rohit Sharma for company as the two engaged in extended banter and had spectators in Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan. When they were done, Rohit picked up a whiteboard and looked to scribble something on it before he changed his mind and left the nets area. What was he thinking to scribble with the marker in hand? Probably the Playing XI, the onlookers chuckled.
Playing XI could well be one of the things, if not the only thing, on captain Rohit’s mind as the return of Jadeja, expected to take the field in Rajkot, will force the think-tank to take some tough calls to ensure an ideal and balanced team for the crucial game of the series.
India’s premier all-rounder missed the second Test due to a hamstring injury but has rejoined the squad and trained with the side on both days. During his batting stint, the left-hander didn’t look to be in any discomfort and also rolled his arm over, mostly bowling from a spot, briefly before cooling down.
Now, the big question: who goes out if Jadeja returns to the Playing XI?
India played Kuldeep Yadav in the 2nd Test in Visakhapatnam and the left-arm chinaman did add variety to the attack and impressed in the first innings with figures of 3/71. It was a different experience for the 29-year-old who isn’t used to seeing teams attack in the longest format and he did have a lot of fun during his first brush with Bazball.
“Normally when you play Tests, you don’t worry about batters attacking you, you’re only focused on how you want to get them out. But here approach is different, they’re in attacking mode so you also have to plan how to restrict them. When they play shots, you have more opportunities to take wickets. It’s interesting. The last game was my first (against Bazball) I enjoyed it a lot,” Kuldeep said in a media interaction on Tuesday.
Work was underway on the 22 yards for the third Test and it by no means looks like a raging turner. There was a distinct green tinge on the surface but the extra grass is likely to be shaved off on the eve of the match and it is likely to be on the drier side with plenty of runs in it. Kuldeep too was candid in response to a query on the pitch and felt “it’ll be a batting wicket”.
Now with the wicket expected to be in favour of the batters, are India better off having Jadeja and Kuldeep or Jadeja and Axar? The former looks a more viable option as it definitely gives more variety to captain Rohit in the attack. Having both Jadeja and Axar is like having two handkerchiefs made from the same cloth. Both have a very similar bowling skill-set and Kuldeep’s wristwork gives a lot of variety.
Dhruv Jurel or KS Bharat? And one more debutant
The calls for KS Bharat’s ouster have been getting louder with every passing day and the right-hander has done his case no good with outings in the ongoing series. In his 7-Test career, the 30-year-old is yet to score a half-century and has scores of 41, 28, 17 and 6 in the four innings of the first two Tests.
Bharat had a hit in the nets today but it was Jurel who underwent wicket-keeping drills with Sarfaraz Khan, Yashashvi Jaiswal and Rajat Patidar doing duties in the slips. Both Jurel and Bharat batted in adjacent nets facing a lot of spin and side-arm music but it was Jurel who re-entered the nets towards the fag end of the session. The youngster regularly used the sweep shot against the spinners and was severe on anything short outside the off-stump.
The 23-year-old Jurel has just played 15 First Class games so far but has hit three fifties in his last three outings, two for Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy and one for India A vs England Lions. There is a strong possibility of Jurel getting his debut cap on February 15. He has shown his big-match temperament with IPL outings for Rajasthan Royals, is very fit, a neat wicket-keeper and definitely has a bright career ahead of him.
Jurel, however, is unlikely to be the only debutant. It looks like the time has finally come for Sarfaraz who, after scoring truckloads of runs in the Ranji Trophy, is likely to come in at No.5 in the Playing XI. With Iyer out of form and dropped, Rahul still not 100%, the stars have finally aligned in Sarfaraz’s favour and he is likely to get the management’s nod as a specialist middle-order batter.
The selection headache could get more intense once Rahul regains match fitness. Questions of who makes way for Rahul would pop up but there is still time left for that to happen.
Before that, coach Dravid and captain Rohit need to put together a balanced Playing XI which has enough bite in bowling and adequate depth in batting. For that to happen, tough calls are the need of the hour!
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