India weigh four spinners for the Galle Test as the Sri Lanka series nears
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India's only warm-up game before the two-Test series against Sri Lanka ended in dramatic fashion, with Mohammed Siraj striking three consecutive sixes to take the side across the finish line. The series opener begins at Galle on August 15.
The visitors found answers to most of their questions in that match, but one remains open: which spin combination takes the field in the first Test. India have four spinners in contention and cannot play all of them.
Kuldeep Yadav bowled 18 overs in the first innings but did not bowl in the second. Saransh Jain delivered 15 overs across the match. Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja each bowled around 14 to 15 overs, giving the group as a whole a substantial workout.
Spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said the decision would be taken only once the squad reached Galle, and that each of the four brought something different. He pointed to Jadeja's experience, to the accuracy of Manav Suthar, and to Saransh Jain's record in domestic cricket, which he said was how Jain had earned his place. Kuldeep Yadav, as a wrist spinner, offers a different kind of variety in the attack.
Bahutule explained that Kuldeep had not bowled in the second innings simply because he wanted a break. The bowler had sent down close to 20 overs in all, counting a few before the game began, and wanted to understand how his body was responding. Stepping aside also gave the other spinners more time in the middle to learn how the pitch behaved.
Captain Shubman Gill took no part in the fixture until the final session on the third day, when he made 44 runs from 54 balls. Bahutule described the absence as a precaution and nothing more, saying Gill had been training normally and had batted flawlessly on his return.
The match also gave India's lower-order batsmen useful time at the crease, with Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain both getting an extended stay. Bahutule said the team was deliberately encouraging its bowlers to bat as much as possible in the nets, on the view that runs from the lower order are often what turn a competitive total into a winning one.
Why it matters
Selection puzzles like this one are really questions about conditions. Galle is a venue where spin has historically decided matches, so the choice between a wrist spinner and a finger spinner, or between accuracy and variety, is a read on the pitch as much as on the players. Following a series at this level also builds a habit that pays off across current affairs generally: noticing that the interesting question is usually not who won, but what constraint the decision-makers were working under.
Test yourself
1. Where does the first Test against Sri Lanka begin?
2. Who hit three consecutive sixes to finish the warm-up game?
3. How many spinners are in contention for the first Test?
4. Why did Kuldeep Yadav not bowl in the second innings?
5. Which spinner did the coach single out for accuracy?
6. What type of bowler is Kuldeep Yadav?
7. How many runs did Shubman Gill make in the warm-up game?
8. Why was Shubman Gill held back for the first two days?
9. How many overs did Kuldeep Yadav bowl in the first innings?
10. Why is India encouraging its bowlers to bat in the nets?
Your notes
Source: The Indian Express