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Playing Ishan Kishan ahead of KS Bharat and two spinners appearances in the XI are the two main options that Team India has saddled up two days before their first Test against the West Indies in Roseau, Dominica.
It is understood that after KS Bharat’s unconvincing display with the bat in the five Tests he has started this year, the Indian team management is keen on Kishan delivering for the first time. But his skill at keeping spinners seems to be the only concern still keeping Bharat in the account with the final call expected on the eve of the match.
India begins its next round of the World Test Championship with a two-match Test series in the Caribbean, to be played in Roseau and Port-of-Spain. Having already hit the go button by dropping Cheteshwar Pujara, India are weighing their two-Test options as they are keen to get off the block in the WTC points table. With Yashasvi Jaiswal set to make his debut at number three, India is likely to make three more changes to the starting XI against Australia at the Oval.
After being criticized for failing to read the conditions at the oval, where they dropped the controversial R Ashwin to accommodate four fast cars, India are going cautiously this time around. Unlike other venues in the Caribbean, where fast bowlers are beginning to enjoy pitches again in the region, Windsor Park is known to be on the slower side and in the five Tests it has hosted – most recently in 2017 – has enjoyed good success. Shane Shellingford, Michael Clarke, Devendra Bichu and Yasir Shah have five wickets to their name and the likes of Narsingh Deonarine, Nathan Lyon, Harbhajan Singh and Roston Chase made notable contributions in the first as well as the second innings.
Ishan Kishan and Mohamed Siraj during a training session for Team India at Windson Park in Roseau, Dominica. (BCCI/Twitter)
Apart from the Indian subcontinent, the only other place where India hasn’t hesitated to play two spinners is in the Caribbean. Although last they toured in 2019, India played a four-ball attack (three-balls and threes) in a significant departure from the five-shooter formula, with a loss of experience in the fast bowling unit, India tend to play both Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
During the 2016 tour, India had preferred Ashwin over Jadeja as their first choice with even spinner Amit Mishra starting penultimate in the first two Tests. And in the end, Ashwin ended up with the Man of the Series award, where he also scored a century.
Kishan puzzle
It is understood that during the selection meeting to select the team, Kishan’s name was discussed as first choice and there was a throw-up in the second goalkeeper slot between Bharat and Upendra Yadav. Although Bharat was eventually retained by the selectors, his failures with the bat meant that Kishan was viewed with genuine interest. The only aspect that weighs heavily on Kishan is that he is not even Jharkhand’s favorite wicket-keeper in the Ranji Trophy, for whom he plays primarily as a batsman. With two players likely to play, there are concerns about how he will fare with Ashwin and Jadeja.
With India likely to field only five specialist batsmen, they need a lower-order batsman and Kishan with his aggressive game is capable of playing game-changing innings. As far as Bharat goes, in the five Tests he has played his batting has not been up to the expected levels and he was all over the sea when it came to taking on the fast bowlers.
Siraj, Thakur V
In the absence of Mohammed Shami, India is poised to capitalize on the experience of Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur with Jaidev Onadkat, Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar battling it out for the only spot left.
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