A five-match Test series is being played between India and Australia. In the first match played in Perth, Team India won by 295 runs. After the strong performance of the batsmen, the Indian fast bowlers forced Australia to kneel. Now the second match is to be played in Adelaide from December 6. This will be a day-night test or say, a pink ball test. India has played only one day-night test in Australia before this and in that match played in Adelaide in 2020, Team India suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Kangaroos.
The Indian team would like to forget that defeat and make a new beginning. However, the biggest question is what will be Team India's playing eleven. The return of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill has increased the team management's problems. If both of them play, then there will be a lot of changes in the playing eleven. In such a situation, will Ravichandran Ashwin get a chance to play? In the last Test, Washington Sundar was played to strengthen the batting order.
It is difficult for Ashwin to make it to the playing 11
India's veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has 536 wickets in Test cricket. However, due to the presence of Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja in the team that went on the Australia tour, it seems very difficult for him to make it to the playing-11. Given the pitch that was helpful for fast bowlers in Perth, the team included Sundar instead of Ashwin and experienced Jadeja due to his better batting. If the pitch helps the fast bowlers more in the future too, then it will be tough for 38-year-old Ashwin to make it to the team.
Ashwin's playing is possible only when the team needs two spinners. Sundar's bowling was very poor in Perth. If the performance in Australia, England, New Zealand, and South Africa i.e. SENA countries is taken as a parameter, then Jadeja seems to be a stronger contender than Ashwin in the playing 11. Jadeja has batted better in these countries. Former Indian team selector Devang Gandhi said, 'I think the current form has been taken into consideration. The Indian team management wanted to go with a team that was full of confidence. The management is not looking at the record.'
'Sundar is a reliable lower-order batsman'
Devang Gandhi said, 'Sundar bowled well against New Zealand and he is a reliable batsman in the lower middle order. His being in the team makes sense.' However, Ashwin's best performance in SENA countries came in the day-night Test played in Adelaide in 2021. In this match, he took four wickets for 55 runs in the Australian innings. Before the Australia tour, Ashwin took only nine wickets in the three-match series against New Zealand on home soil on spinner-friendly pitches.
Gandhi said, 'India's bowling plan in Australian conditions will revolve around Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana. If Mohammed Shami is included later, he will also be in it. Therefore, the spinner's job will be to control the run rate while protecting these fast bowlers from fatigue.'
Ashwin has no five-wicket haul in SENA countries.
Ashwin has not taken five wickets in an innings even once in SENA countries. He has taken 71 wickets in 43 matches in these countries at a strike rate of 83.7. On the other hand, Jadeja has taken 52 wickets in 35 matches at the same strike rate. For the last several years, Jadeja has been getting preference over Ashwin due to better batting skills abroad. He has one century and five half-centuries to his name in these countries. He has scored runs at an average of around 30, while Ashwin has two half-centuries to his name.
A veteran Indian Test player said, 'If the two main spinners of the team have taken five wickets only once abroad in the last 10 years, then it is a problem. When it comes to batting, Sundar is better than both of them in this matter.' It will be very difficult for these two experienced spinners of India to make a place in the team on this tour. If two spinners are needed in any match, then in these situations there are high chances of Jadeja getting a chance along with Sundar.
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