The message is loud and clear for Ishan Kishan. The wicketkeeper, who sought a rest and missed Tests against South Africa, will have to play domestic cricket and earn his comeback. The senior selection committee has overlooked him for the first two Tests against England and have given a maiden call-up to Uttar Pradesh’s Dhruv Jurel as four spinners headlined the 16-member squad.
The selectors didn’t want to rush Mohammed Shami back and it is understood he is likely to be drafted in for the second-half of the five-match series. With regards to Prasidh Krishna, who made his debut in South Africa, it is learnt that the pacer has picked up a quadriceps injury on Day 1 of Karnataka’s Ranji fixture against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. Prasidh bowed 14.5 overs before walking off the field.
Post the ongoing T20Is against Afghanistan, India are scheduled to host England in a five-match Test series at home, with the first match beginning in Hyderabad on January 25. Despite the mixed outing in South Africa, no big changes were expected and the only question was around the wicketkeeper’s slot. While Rahul had donned the gloves in the Rainbow nation, there are still doubts as to whether he can keep at home, especially on turning tracks against R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
While one expected India to bring back Kishan into the fold —as he also offers something different by being a left-handed batsman – he now has to wait for the time being.
That there are already two other left-handers in Jadeja and Axar to tackle the English spinners has made it all the more easy for the selectors to not include Kishan.
The Indian Express understands that Rahul is the front-runner to keep wickets, but India will also keep a close tab on his preparations and how he fronts up to the spinners in the lead up to the first Test. Although the 31-year-old has kept wickets regularly in the ODIs for the past couple of years, the challenge of doing it on turning tracks against the spinners with a red-ball still remains an unchartered territory for Rahul.
In the worst-case scenario, India feel they can always go back to KS Bharat. But having Rahul means, India’s batting will also get a bolster, provided he comes up with improved performances with the bat.
As far as Jurel goes, he was part of India A tour to South Africa and is also part of the team that is facing the England Lions. In 15 FC games, he has an impressive average of 46.47 and is regarded as a compact batsman.
Unlike the limited-overs format, in Test cricket, especially when it comes to playing at home, batting depth has been India’s biggest strength. On turning tracks, where India have gone in with three spinners – Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar – and two pacers, the batting depth extends all the way up to No 9. In the closely-fought series against Australia last year, the contributions of the spinners with the bat proved to be the turning point.
Trial by spin
That India will stick to playing on spin-friendly pitches was expected and if there needed any confirmation, the presence of a strong four-prone attack proves it. That Kuldeep Yadav, who has been their lead wicket-taking option in white-ball cricket over the past 14 months, could end up warming the bench tells a story or two. Despite having an impressive performance in Bangladesh in late 2022, the left-arm wrist-spinner hasn’t played a Test since and spent the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the bench.
The likelihood of it repeating again this time isn’t ruled out as there is sufficient break in between. Between the second Test in Vizag and third in Rajkot there is an eight-day break. And between the fourth match in Ranchi and the last in Dharamsala, there is another eight-day break.
All eyes on Gill
The Indian Express understands that there are concerns around Shubman Gill, who is yet to own his place in Tests. While Gill has very much cemented his spot in the limited-overs format, there are still doubts over his form in Tests, with bowlers exposing a couple of weak links.
Since scoring a century against Australia in Ahmedabad, he has batted in nine innings and has touched 30, only once. With Rajat Patidar, Abhimanyu Easwaran waiting in the wings, if Gill’s string of poor scores continue, his place could be under cloud for the remaining three Tests. Similarly, there are concerns around Shreyas Iyer as well, but given his record against spinners, especially in home conditions, India believe he could well be their trump card in the middle-order.
Given this is a batting unit in transition and despite the stakes being high, the selectors and the team management have retained faith in the youngsters. The first two Tests will tell where they stand.
