Gautam Gambhir said in the press conference on Monday that if Rohit Sharma cannot play the first Test, then KL Rahul or Abhimanyu Easwaran will replace him. It is clear from this statement by the Indian coach that it is difficult for captain Rohit to play the Perth Test. The match will begin on November 22.
Gambhir also said that if Rohit does not play, Jasprit Bumrah will take over as captain. However, due to Rohit’s absence, the Indian team’s game-11 is also deteriorating. You will know the answers to 5 questions related to this in the story.
Who will open instead of Rohit? Jurel or Sarfaraz, who is the middle-order batsman? Jadeja or Sundar, who is the spin all-rounder? is the third pacemaker?
1. 3 contenders for the first place, Rahul is the strongest. If Rohit does not bowl, then another player will have to start the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal. There are 3 contenders for this position including KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Shubman Gill.
Rahul: Is the strongest contender for the top spot. He was dropped in the home series against New Zealand, but is the only Indian opener to score a century in Australia, England and South Africa. Has the ability to play with rhythm and swing. The overseas average is low, but going by experience, Rahul is the best replacement for Easwaran: Easwaran has been retained as a substitute opener in the 18-member squad. He also started in both first-class matches against Australia-A, but he could not score a single fifty. However, based on the national record, he also remains in the race: Gill started his Test career as an opener, he was also part of the Indian team that beat Australia in the Test series in 2021. After Yashasvi’s entry, he took the number 3 position and scored a lot of runs. If Rahul-Eshwaran cannot bowl, Shubman can also open. However, if he opens, the team will have to change the batting order. In such a situation, he will be seen batting at number 3 only.
2. Jurel or Sarfaraz, who will play in the middle order? After Shubman’s arrival at number 3, Virat Kohli is confirmed to play at number 4 and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant at number 5. There is a race between Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan for the number 6 position.
Sarfaraz: Sarfaraz played all the matches in the Test series against New Zealand. He also scored a century, but failed in the last 2 Tests. Considering his form, it is difficult for him to get a chance, but if the team wants to give him more chances, he can bat at number 6. Jurel: Dhruv couldn’t play even a single match against New Zealand and Bangladesh. He scored runs in the Duleep Trophy and then scored 50 runs in both innings of the first-class match against Australia-A. In both innings, the team had lost the first 4 wickets before 40 runs. Based on this form, he might have a chance ahead of Sarfaraz.
3. Who will be the spin all-rounder? India last played the Test in Perth in 2018, when the team did not field a single spinner. While the only Australian spinner, Nathan Lyon, won the player of the match award by taking 8 wickets. However, Hanuma Vihari later played the role of off-spinner. This time, there is not a single part-time player among the top 6 Indian batsmen. Therefore, the team will have to field a spinner, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin are contenders for this position.
Jadeja: Whenever the Indian team is faced with the question of playing an all-rounder overseas, the team chooses Jadeja. The batting and fielding also make him better than the other two all-rounders. There are also 5 right-handed batsmen in the Australian top 8, so Jaddu can be part of the game-11 Sundar: Sundar had taken 16 wickets in the last 2 tests against New Zealand, he proved dangerous against both types of. drummers. He took 4 wickets in the 2021 Gabba Test in Australia. He then also scored 84 important runs in 2 innings. If the team wants to take risks, they can include Sundar in game-11 Ashwin: The third all-rounder in the team is Ravi Ashwin. However, looking at his batting, it is difficult for him to be in the 11 before Jadeja and Sundar. He couldn’t do anything special with the bowling in the home series against New Zealand. He has taken 39 wickets in 10 Tests in Australia, but it is difficult for him to get a chance.
4. Who will be the versatile player? Shardul Thakur was part of the Indian team in 2021, he took India to a strong position by scoring a fifty at the Gabba. This time he did not get a place in the team, Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana were included in place of Shardul. Therefore, one of these two players will be included to bat at the number 8 position.
Nitish: Reddy got a chance to play in the 2-match first-class series against Australia-A. He could only take one wicket in 4 innings, while scoring 71 runs with the bat. He is yet to make his Test debut, but to increase the batting depth, the team can include Reddy in the game-11 Harshit: 22-year-old all-rounder Rana is yet to make his debut for India in any format. He earned a place in the team after performing well for the IPL and India-A. He has taken 43 wickets in the 10 first-class matches played so far. While he scored a century and 2 fifties with the bat. He can make his debut on the tour, but it is difficult to play his first Test.
5. Who will be the third leader, Prasidh or Akash Deep? Jasprit Bumrah will be the main paceman of the team. Mohammad Siraj can start the innings with him, but the question concerns the third pacer. The famous Krishna and Akash Deep are contenders for this post.
Prasidh: Playing for India-A, Prasidh troubled the Australia-A batsmen with his pace in both the matches. He took 10 wickets in 4 innings. Not only that, he also scored 43 runs with the bat. He made his Test debut last year against South Africa, but he took only 2 wickets then. He can become India’s trump card on the bouncy pitches of Australia. Akash: During the home series against New Zealand, Akash Deep troubled the Kiwi openers by swinging the ball both ways. He knows how to take wickets in domestic conditions, so his pace can be effective in friendly conditions abroad as well. However, he has so far not been able to play a single match abroad. It is therefore difficult for him to play the first match.
India could play 11-a-side for Perth Test
Jasprit Bumrah (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj.
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Gambhir said on Border-Gavaskar Trophy – I am not under pressure
The Indian team coach has denied any form of pressure ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Regarding Ricky Ponting’s statement, he said that he should concentrate on his cricket.
Gambhir held a press conference before the team left for Australia. Gambhir was in front of the media at a time when the Indian team had lost the Test series 3-0 against New Zealand at home.