With series victories over New Zealand, England and Bangladesh, India were the form favourites when they started the four-Test series against Australia late February. Visiting skipper Steve Smith himself admitted his team were the ‘underdogs’ going in, and stalwarts Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh predicted 4-0 whitewashes.
But three days into the first fixture and India already had one defeat in their column, a 333-run loss to be precise. Their 19-match unbeaten streak in Tests was over and the big questions started getting thrown around once again – whose fault was the loss? Was the pitch to blame? Should the team make changes for the next Test? Everyone picked reasons as to what had gone wrong. Some blamed the pitch while many questioned the playing eleven.
With the second Test set to start on 4 March, the senior team management faces the dilemma of whether or not to field the same team. If they do choose to alter the XI, here are two possible changes they could possibly go with:
Another Chance for Karun Nair?
Karun Nair earned his first Test cap when he replaced an injured Ajinkya Rahane in the third Test against England. And only in the third Test of his debut series, the Karnataka batsman scored an unbeaten triple century on 20 December 2016. However, once Rahane recovered, he was given his spot back.
When people questioned on why an in-form Karun was being made to sit out, Anil Kumble made it clear that a cricketer (Rahane), who had done well for the team, should not be replaced permanently just because he was injured and someone had performed well while he was away.
Karun took his opportunity and did what he did (score 303*), but we all know what Ajinkya has done for his team. His performances have been phenomenal.Anil Kumble
And he’s right. Ajinkya has been performing well consistently with the bat, even scoring 82 in his comeback Test against Bangladesh. However, if Karun has to come in for someone in the next Test against Australia, it should be in place of Jayant Yadav.
Going by their batting performance, I expect them to play an extra batsman – that is Karun Nair. He should be replacing Jayant in all likelihood.Mohammed Azharuddin, Former Indian Cricketer
India currently has five batsman: Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. While Ashwin and Umesh have been doing the bulk of the damage in the bowling section, the batting department could do with one more player, considering India’s combined score in the two innings against Australia was 212.
Switching the Pacers?
Another change in the Indian playing eleven that Mohammed Azharuddin suggested, was replacing pacer Ishant Sharma with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. “On the tracks that we are playing, Ishant’s back of the length stuff is not going to work. It is better that a swing bowler like Bhuvneshwar is brought into the team by Virat”, said the former Indian cricketer.
However, some would argue against this change as Ishant has been an asset to the Indian team, consistently putting pressure on the opposition’s batting order like in the first Test against Australia.
Returning from injury, Sharma had picked three wickets at an average of 19.66 while giving away only 59 runs in the only Test he played against England.
When he made his comeback in the playing eleven after 19 months for the third Test against West Indies in August 2016, Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up six wickets while giving away only 46 runs. The 16 out of the 35.4 overs he bowled in that match were maidens. He subsequently picked another six wickets against New Zealand and one in the Hyderabad Test against Bangladesh, after which he was praised by the Indian skipper.
The way Bhuvi has bowled in the last few games he has played, with the old ball, it’s all because his fitness levels have increased. Having more strength in the body, he’s been able to put more pace in the ball, which is key for reverse-swing. The other three guys (Shami, Ishant, Umesh), naturally, have more pace than him. I think Bhuvi has stepped up the game with the old ball too.Virat Kohli, Indian Captain
In the pre-match conference on Thursday, Indian coach Anil Kumble said that while the management was yet to discuss the team composition, he emphasised that Rahane would not be dropped.
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