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With Australia not scheduled to play another Test until the Ashes in November, the Dharamsala match has major implications for the futures of Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Matt Wade and Glenn Maxwell.
Wade was picked for his batting, yet since returning to the line-up has averaged a paltry 18 in seven Tests, failing to score a single half-century.
Lyon, meanwhile, has been comprehensively outbowled by Stephen O’Keefe in the six Tests they’ve played together, averaging 36 compared to O’Keefe’s 25.
And one of Marsh or Maxwell are expected to lose their Ashes spot to the returning Usman Khawaja, who has a phenomenal Test record in Australia, with 1211 runs at 64.
Khawaja is, in my opinion, a lock at first drop for the Ashes series, and I’d be surprised if the Australian selectors don’t see it the same way. It was a tough call on Khawaja to leave him out of the line-up for this series.
The languid left-hander struggled so abjectly against spin in Sri Lanka last year that the selectors made the correct horse-for-courses call in instead picking Marsh.
The elder Marsh brother was the only Australian batsman other than captain Steve Smith to flourish in Sri Lanka, batting for five hours in making a polished, patient 130 in the final Test. However he has had a mixed series in India, with two wonderful knocks surrounded by four failures.
Twice in this series he has grafted for almost four hours in difficult conditions. At Bangalore he made 66 from 197 balls on a nightmare pitch with wildly inconsistent bounce. Then, most significantly, he helped pull off a miracle at Ranchi, making 53 from 197 balls as Australia survived for 100 overs in the fourth innings to secure a rousing draw.
Overall, Marsh has underperformed in this series, particularly given he was selected as a specialist in Asian conditions. Unless he produces something quite extraordinary with the blade at Dharamsala then it is clear that he, not Maxwell, should make way for Khawaja in the Ashes.
Khawaja is patently a superior player of fast bowling than Marsh, whose lowest moments of his Test career have been precipitated by pace. In Australian conditions, against a good England seam attack, Khawaja is the obvious choice.
At home, an Australian top five of David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Khawaja, Smith and Peter Handscomb is strong enough to gamble on playing a dynamic batsman at six to add some variety and menace.
After his brilliant ton at Ranchi, Maxwell is just that man, as Glenn Mitchell wrote yesterday.
That century was the first by an Australian No.6 since 2014, which is incredible when you consider the batting paradises which were served up for home Tests during that period. Maxwell deserves a decent run in the side. With him at six Australia would be better served by a steadier batsman at seven than the flaky Wade.
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The Victorian’s glovework remains ordinary for an international keeper and he has failed to have an impact with the bat. Meanwhile, the man he usurped, Peter Nevill, has been in supreme touch for NSW in the Sheffield Shield, piling up 625 runs at 57, including three tons.
Taking into account Nevill’s superior glovework, he shapes as a clearcut choice ahead of Wade for the Ashes.
Wade, like Marsh and Lyon, has one last chance to save his spot at Dharamsala. In the most important Test match Australia have played in years, performances will carry extra weight.
If Marsh or Wade smash a match-winning century, or Lyon outbowls O’Keefe, they may just save their spots for the blockbuster Ashes series.