It's time for the all-important, much hyped Border Gavaskar Trophy. Who will be in and who will be out from both sides remains a mystery till the toss tomorrow morning. The Jamtha pitch in Nagpur—where the first of the four Test matches is played—is the centre of attraction for reasons best known to either sides. Debate over the wicket also has also spurred the make up of both sides, eventually. Other than the prestigious trophy and the intense rivalry between the two teams, what is at stake for both teams is also a place in the ICC World Test championship final which will be played at the Oval, London from June 7-11.
Ever since both the Indian and Australian teams landed in Nagpur a few days ago, the pitch and its various shades and its preparations have garnered attention. Needless to say, both teams’ skippers have decided to withhold announcing their playing eleven for the match till Thursday morning.
For the hosts, there is a problem of plenty; for the visitors, it's about coping with the unavailability of a few key players and covering their bases. The hosts have the home advantage but their opponents, too, have had a good build up to this tour.
Even as the touring Australian media cried hoarse over alleged “doctoring of the pitch”—yes the perfect #rollseyes moment—the broader consensus built over two days prior to the match is that the spin will win it for the teams. A true blue turner, which will test batters from day one. And thus the team selection conundrum began. The pitch has been rolled, watered and left dry in parts.
For Rohit Sharma-led India, it is about whether to pick in red hot form Surya Kumar Yadav ahead of Test veteran and top order backbone Cheteshwar Pujara. It is also about who will partner with off spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as the third spinner? Will it be Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav? Is K.L. Rahul set to open alongside skipper Rohit Sharma and will the in-form Shubhman Gill go down the order to play at number 5? Will the other in-form batter Suryakumar Yadav warm the bench? The team management aka coach Rahul Dravid, skipper Sharma and other coaches will have several huge decisions to take ahead of the match.
The replacement of Shreyas Iyer, who is unavailable due to injury, has triggered the maximum debate. With first choice wicket keeper Rishabh Pant, too, absent due to his accident and recovery process, the chances of sending Gill in Iyer’s place are high as compared to Yadav’s. Gill has four hundreds, including an ODI double-ton, in his last seven innings. Despite the fact that these came in white ball cricket, Gill has always been tipped to be a Test cricketer first and foremost. Meanwhile, T20 sensation Suryakumar Yadav is yet to make his Test debut but his red hot form has pitchforked his selection into the Test squad. While Gill opens in the white ball format for India, it appears that K.L. Rahul backed by the team management will be Sharma’s opening partner.
Twenty-nine-year-old K.S. Bharat from Andhra Pradesh has been Pant’s understudy for over a year now in Test side and thus is most likely to make his Test debut in Pant’s absence. A prolific wicket-keeper cum batsman, he has a solid domestic performance to back his credentials.
Now for the bowling, the pace department is set to be spearheaded by Mohammed Shami in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence and he will get the company of Mohammed Shiraz. With conditions favouring the tweakers, the five-man bowling attack is bound to have a third specialist spinner. Axar Patel has the edge over Kuldeep Yadav with the bat, but Yadav has been on a strong comeback mode off late. As per Steve Smith, the Jamtha wicket is unlikely to have much bounce. In case India end up bowling first on Day One, Kuldeep’s chances of picking wickets and getting some turn off the wickets are higher, a la Chattogram Test in Bangladesh recently. It will be a tight call for the third spinner.
Now for the Aussies, there are likely to be a few forced inclusions and exclusions, mostly due to injury to key players. Skipper Pat Cummins has to cope with the unavailability of all-rounder Cameron Green. Matt Renshaw has taken his place. Australia have packed their batting line up with left handers. The visitors are likely to go with four man bowling attack—in the absence of experienced Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood. Their spin department will be headed by Nathan Lyon who has tirelessly made inroads in India’s batting line up in previous encounters. The second specialist spinner is likely to be a toss up between left arm spinner Ashton Agar and off spinner Todd Murphy. Aussie skipper Cummins expressed his satisfaction with the younger spinners’ preparations, saying especially about Murphy that he was ready.
All eyes will be on the two skippers and that sheet of white papers in their hands when they step out for the toss on Thursday morning. Once the guesswork is over and done with, it will be all about application and hard work over the next five days.
