Image Credit- BCCI
Is it Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav? And do Kuldeep
Yadav and Axar Patel have a case? Before Thursday’s third Test against England,
which gets underway in Rajkot, India’s selectors and team management may take a
long time to ponder these issues. The selection process isn’t a simple match
between players that are similar to each other, which complicates matters.
Additionally, the announcement that KL Rahul has been ruled out may also have
an impact. In the end, three questions are likely to determine who India’s
third spinner is.
Is Jadeja ready to start?
Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were forced to miss the
second Test in Visakhapatnam due to injuries. While Jadeja’s availability is
still pending the outcome of a fitness test, Rahul has been ruled out of the
Rajkot Test.
Jadeja is anticipated to replace Kuldeep or Axar if he
is able to play, with Kuldeep probably keeping his spot because of the threat
he poses to India’s attack in terms of taking wickets, especially in
batting-friendly conditions. In Visakhapatnam, he took three wickets in the
first innings and proved to be the most economical of India’s three spinners
throughout the match. His wristspinner’s additional bounce threat and
stump-to-stump line hindered England’s use of the sweep and reverse-sweep.
Additionally, he seems to have greater rhythm now than Axar.
If Jadeja doesn’t play, India’s selection is simpler:
both Kuldeep and Axar play alongside R Ashwin as they did in Visakhapatam.
The Pitch equation
With one exception, Rajkot is thought to be one of
India’s most batter-friendly locations. The SCA Stadium is naturally full of
runs; Cheteshwar Pujara and Jaydev have each scored two double hundreds and a
triple century here. However, there have been occasions when Saurashtra, the
host team, has had to prepare square turners due to results pressure. Thus, in
addition to the twenty first-class totals of 500 or more that have occurred
here, there have also been twenty all-out totals of 150 or less.
The location has already played host to two Test
matches: an innings-long victory for India over the West Indies in 2019 when
the hosts declared on 649 for 9, and a thrilling draw between England and India
in 2016. Adil Rashid claimed seven wickets in the 2016 match and Kuldeep
claimed a five-for in the second innings against the West Indies, demonstrating
the considerable influence wristspinners had in both Test matches.
Indian bowling will be valued more the flatter the
surface is. Kuldeep bowls. On the other hand, a square turner might cause them
to consider choosing Axar in addition to or instead of Kuldeep.
Is Rahul’s absence going to play a part?
Rahul would have taken Shreyas Iyer’s position in the
starting eleven if he had been fit. But with Rahul out of the picture, India
may wind up with Visakhapatnam native Rajat Patidar at number four and one of
the uncapped players Sarfaraz Khan or Devdutt Padikkal at number five. On
paper, India has a solid amount of depth in Jadeja, Ashwin, and KS Bharat, but
due to Bharat’s form issues and lack of experience, India may try to find a way
to include Axar in their starting lineup.
Leaving Kuldeep out would be the most defensive move
in this situation. Selecting Axar, or Washington Sundar, as a batting
all-rounder and starting him before Sarfaraz or Padikkal would be the most
extreme and bold option, but it wouldn’t exactly solve any depth issues.
Using Jasprit Bumrah as the only fast bowler and
providing four spin options for him would be a third strategy. But, India might
require a second fast to split Bumrah’s workload if reverse-swing enters the
picture as it did in Visakhapatnam and the pitch doesn’t break up too much
throughout the first three days.