India had the scope of preparing turners to strengthen their No.1 position in the World Test Championship standings against a struggling New Zealand in the three-Test series beginning in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
For a side that came a cropper even against unheralded Sri Lankan spinners on their previous tour, it could be gruelling if India decide to include a third spinner in the form of Kuldeep Yadav alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI.
However, with rain in Bengaluru disrupting both teams’ preparations leading up to the opening Test and likely to play spoilsport during the course of the game, India may have to rethink their combination.
Overcast conditions mean assistance for quicks, which may then prompt the team management to continue with three pacers and two spinners, as it was during the recent Bangladesh Tests.
Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep will join spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to form the pace attack, with Ashwin and Jadeja taking care of the spin department. Not to say that India would mind seam-friendly conditions as their fast bowling group looks much more organised at present than that of the visitors.
Also, with just over a month left for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, it will present both the quicks as well as the batters an opportunity for a solid workout in seam-friendly conditions before facing Australia.
For New Zealand, such conditions should be of some relief at least as quicks Tim Southee and Will O’Rourkee will have a chance to exploit the new ball. No matter how the surface behaves, the coming series will be a Herculean task for the Black Caps’ batting group, especially in the absence of former captain Kane Williamson, who’s racing to be fit for the second Test after sustaining a groin injury.
Not just Williamson’s absence, but the knee injury to Ben Sears, who was one of the four frontline fast bowlers in New Zealand’s Test squad for the India tour, has pushed the visitors into a deeper hole. Jacob Duffy, uncapped in Tests, was named as Sears’ replacement.
India may also need to reshuffle their combination outside the bowling group. No.3 batter Shubman Gill has a stiff neck which casts a bit of doubt on his availability.
If Gill misses out, Sarfaraz Khan appears to be the favourite to take his spot, although the latter will most likely continue to bat in the middle order. KL Rahul, in that case, could bat at No.3.
In other words, the momentum is very much with India, who are on a roll with six Test wins on the trot. Precisely, there isn’t much cause to worry for captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir as they can afford to focus more on their style and approach as per the game situation.
That said, they would be even more relieved if Virat Kohli gets a few big scores and dominates the rival bowling attack before the Australia Tests. Kohli’s die-hard fanbase may keep pointing out that he has two centuries in his last eight Test appearances. But those couple of instances aside, the former skipper has looked circumspect, particularly in conditions having some assistance for bowlers — both quicks and spinners.
New Zealand, regardless of the difficult phase they seem to be in, must be having a plan or two to unsettle Kohli.
