KL Rahul is set to open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal while Devdutt Padikkal will replace the injured Shubman Gill at No.3 in the playing XI for the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, beginning Friday.
Almost 72 hours before the start, sources told The Telegraph that while the batting order has been finalised, the bowling line-up is undecided till Tuesday night because of the prevailing wet conditions in Perth.
Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team due to the unavailability of regular captain Rohit Sharma following the birth of his second child in Mumbai.
Gill’s injury did press the panic button in the team’s ranks but Rahul recovered in time from another scare after getting hit on the right elbow during a match simulation session last week.
Rahul’s form remains a concern but his experience and success in overseas conditions have prompted head coach Gautam Gambhir to promote him in the batting order. He is being given another opportunity at the expense of Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has an enviable record in domestic cricket.
The real surprise though has been the inclusion of Dhruv Jurel at No.6. The 23-year-old had been impressive for India A across both innings in seaming conditions at the MCG, scoring 80 and 68.
Sarfaraz Khan, who got a hundred against New Zealand in the last series at home, has been overlooked because of Jurel’s ability to grind the attack and tire the bowlers down.
Jurel made an impressive debut as a wicketkeeper-batter against England earlier this year and played a defining knock in the fourth Test in Ranchi. He subsequently didn’t get a chance against New Zealand.
His technique and application during the simulation sessions on the bouncy
Australian wickets have come in for a lot of praise which has precipitated his entry into the team.
Rohit’s absence and Gill’s injury have also meant that the Indians had to rejig their slip-catching strategy. Padikkal, Kohli, Rahul and Jaiswal have been positioned in the slip cordon during practice with Jurel manning the gully region.
The close-in catching has to be top class in Australian conditions where the ball often flies off the bat at high speed and any slip-up could prove to be dear.
The forecast of rain in the lead-up to the opener has kept the think-tank undecided on their bowling combination. If the wicket remains covered, the team management is concerned that the surface may not dry up properly to provide enough bounce and carry to the fast bowlers.
The Indians’ first nets at the Perth Stadium on Tuesday was also affected by rain forcing the players off the field midway through the session.
But with clear and sunny weather predicted during the five days of the Test, there is also a chance that the intense heat may harden the pitch enough to alter the conditions.
The initial thought process was to go in with a four-pronged pace attack in sync with the carry at the Waca where the Indians practised since landing in Perth a week ago.
The drop-in pitch at the Perth Stadium has the same clay as Waca but the weather could have an impact on its behavioural pattern.
Indications are that Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to make his debut to form the pace quartet along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep. But if the conditions force a change in strategy, Ravichandran Ashwin will be back in the scheme of things.
Reddy is a decent bat and perfectly suits the role of a pace-bowling all-rounder, a position successfully fulfilled by Shardul Thakur on overseas tours.
“The decision to pick Reddy ahead of Shardul is also about moving forward. I think we’ve picked the best squad who can do the job for us. We all know how incredibly talented Nitish Reddy is and if given an option, he will deliver for us,” head coach Gautam Gambhir was full of praise for the Andhra all-rounder at the pre-departure news conference in Mumbai.
Harshit Rana is definitely a few notches above Reddy in terms of pace but the core group also wants to safeguard against any batting failure at the top.
