It’s still early days but India’s combination for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is already grabbing a lot of eyeballs.

Sunil Gavaskar has aired his views saying that the think-tank shouldn’t fiddle with the playing XI too often and trust their skills. But will India play an extra spinner in offie Washington Sundar to take advantage of the four lefthanders in the Australian line-up?

India played both Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja the last time they played at the venue in 2020. Both the spinners had accounted for eight wickets in the match as the Ajinkya Rahane-led side won by eight wickets. Even Nathan Lyon had claimed three wickets as India bounced back to level the series 1-1.

However, there is a school of thought that the nature of the drop-in wicket has undergone a change in the last two Tests at the venue. It is expected to aid the fast bowlers though a lot of experts feel that it will turn from the third day onwards.

The Indians had a rest day on Friday since their arrival in Melbourne and have an early morning nets scheduled for Saturday.

There’s already talk that it would be prudent to utilise the Australians’ weakness against spin in their bid to take a decisive lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

But who will sit out if a second spinner is drafted into the playing XI? Nitish Reddy is the third-highest run-getter in the series after KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal and has provided much-needed resistance in the lower-order. However, his medium pace hasn’t proved to be effective with only three wickets in as many Tests.

The conditions in Melbourne are unlikely to aid much lateral movement and with pacers like Reddy, who don’t have much pace, it could prove to be tough. Hence there’s a possibility that he could be benched for a second spinner in Melbourne.

Jadeja scored a solid 77 in Brisbane though his bowling has been rusty. It would be tough to drop him in the circumstances and the only way to include Sundar would be by keeping Reddy out. But will the team management take such a risky call?

India has a mixed record in Boxing Day Tests at the MCG, with four wins, eight losses, and two draws in 14 matches.

“There’s pressure on the other team too,” Rohit said after the third Test ended in a draw.

“Until you put some pressure on the other team you won’t come to know how they react under pressure. When we were here last, we had chased 320-330 (328) on the last day and they’ll remember that in the back of their mind, they know we are capable of chasing like this.

“Whatever happened today, it gave us confidence ahead of Melbourne. We’re aware we have to start from scratch, conditions are different there and the ball may not move around so much there like it did here. We have to analyse all this and proceed.”

While India’s batting unit has been far from consistent in the series, Australia have also endured their share of struggles, notably their top order. Travis Head’s exploits against spin haven’t been proven yet.

Hence the next two Tests will for India as they face the heat in the context of Ashwin’s sudden retirement in Brisbane.

How the team copes with such factors could also determine the fate of some of the players and support staff in the coming days. Perform or perish will be the message that will be reverberating in their ranks.