The much awaited India versus Australia series is just round the corner.
The bugle has been sounded by the BCCI with the announcement of the India squad for the T20, ODI and Test series that are going to be played down under from the end of November.
This series is much awaited by cricket fans in both Australia and India. The Indians would like their team to prove to the Aussies that the 2018-19 series win was not influenced by the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner.
The Australians would like to beat India convincingly and tell the Indians that 2018-19 loss was an aberration.
Whichever way the series might go, there will be no shortage of drama.
Test Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj
Indian team selection
Team selections are usually contentious, what with every commentator in the country weighing in on what the selection committee could have done differently.
Tongues have started to wag at the absence of Rohit Sharma in the line-up. The BCCI notification says that Rohit’s absence is due to his injury and that they will monitor the progress of his fitness closely.
However, Rohit seems to be getting ready in the nets to play for Mumbai Indians in the ongoing IPL in UAE. One hopes that there is nothing sinister in this situation. Indian team needs to go to Australia feeling strong, united and wanting to conquer the Aussies once more.
Apart from the controversy around Rohit’s exclusion, the team selection has been along the expected lines. One thinks that the playing XI for the first Test will be very similar to the one that took the field during the 2018-19 series, except that Saha will be the wicket keeper and one of Saini or Umesh will take Ishant’s place.
In my view, the result of this series for India is going to hinge on the last bit of the previous sentence i.e. the replacement for Ishant.
India will miss Sharma
In the 2018-19 series, one of Ishant, Bumrah and Shami played the role of the third seamer and kept the pressure on the Aussies.
Teams struggle in Australia whenever their third seamer option has been poorer compared to the lead seamers.
Ishant’s absence in the line-up due to injury will be a big blow for India’s chances down under in this series. Virat will expect Umesh or Saini to step up to the plate and fill this huge void.
If we remember, Umesh disappointed one and all in the Perth test in 2018. More than Rohit Sharma, it is Ishant Sharma who India will miss most down under. If the third seamer option fails to perform, Virat can very well kiss the Border Gavaskar trophy good bye.
Apart from the concern due to the absence of Ishant, Virat will also be concerned about the batting form of his Vice Captain.
Ajinkya Rahane did not look in good form in the IPL. Virat will expect his deputy to get into his groove using the opportunities that Ajinkya will get in the next one month.
Arnab Bhattacharya
Roar Guru
Rahul for me is middle-order only for Tests. Bloke got heavily exposed on a green top in Ranji Trophy semi-final vs Bengal when opening. Gill is a proven FC opener for Punjab and India A. Deserves to open having been in India's Test squad since the home series vs South Africa last year. Will be a joke if Rahul opens over Gill. As for Saini over Siraj, Siraj's FC record is better than Saini. Yadav struggles outside of India and Siraj avg 23 with ball. Deserves a go as India's third seamer
Peter Farrar
Roar Pro
I thought Ishant brought a lot of energy and aggression on the last tour which must have rubbed off on the other players. I'm sure also they will miss him.
Brian
Guest
If Rahul finds form he could replace any of Gill, Rahane or Vihari
JGK
Roar Guru
Hopefully we can get Pujara out a couple of times this time round.
Tempo
Roar Rookie
I'm afraid that's Australian government policy - 14 days mandatory quarantine on arrival to the country - no exceptions. There is nothing BCCI and CA can do about this. NSW is the only state who will even allow players to train during their quarantine - in any other state they would have been locked in their rooms for 2 weeks. Bear in mind we are currently seeing less than 5 cases/day throughout Australia, so there is broad public support for strict quarantine measures. Testing on arrival isn't enough as you can be infected but still test negative for up to 14 days.
La grandeur d'Athéna
Roar Rookie
2.5 months tour? Did you watch the schedule and the squad? Our first ODI is at 27 November, Last T20I is at 8 December. Both T20 and ODIs are done in 2 weeks with 6 matches. So a month is being spent doing quarantine in the tour which i suppose do not give much injury scare. Does it? We are not playing 5 ODIs, 5 T20I and 5 tests. Our core test team,specially the batting, is fundamentally different from Short format. I understand the replacement for the bowlers. A big team is required in this time. Not an entire population. Including reserve bowlers we have close to 35 members, that is only players i am talking about.
La grandeur d'Athéna
Roar Rookie
I acknowledge the pandemic caused problem. But players are going to be tested before departure & upon their arrival. Even with that in mind, i can not see how that justifies almost 11 different players for each team because the squad has 30+ members including the reserve bowlers!!
Bikash
Guest
It makes absolute absolute sense to travel with a BIG team in these circumstances, due to a list of valid reasons.. - its a 2.5 months tour and calling someone from India as replacement in between wont he feasible due to COVID - there are specialists for each format and hence team looks big - you need quality net bowlers (Nagarkotti etc) to be available in the bio-bubble thru out
Tempo
Roar Rookie
One thing to be aware of is that any replacement player will need to quarantine for 14 days. And getting into Australia on a commercial flight is extremely difficult even for returning citizens. So it's basically impossible for someone to join the squad once the tour has started. Hence they need to pick a big squad to cover all injury possibilities.
La grandeur d'Athéna
Roar Rookie
They have selected entire population in the team. We are touring party and i wonder how will people from outside look at us taking so many people, like taking an entire baaraat. Even for pandemic this looks excessive to me. Is team management not confident with the fitness level players have? I have heard there are also extra members like nagarkoti who will be traveling with the team :-/ The team looks good to me, but i am not sure what pant has done to keep his position in test team. Last time we were overdependent on che. If Australia does not roll out same types of slow pitches, i guess we will see how our batsmen will fare this time. I would like to remind this is not just a series anymore. World test championship is at stake. Good luck to the boys.
Tsat
Roar Guru
I would agree with your selection..Saini is a better bet over Siraj..
Bikash
Guest
My XI - Agarwal, Gill, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Vihari, Saha, Jadeja, Saini, Shami, Bumrah
Arnab Bhattacharya
Roar Guru
My XI - Agarwal, Gill, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Vihari, Pant, Jadeja, Shami, Siraj, Bumrah