Team India will embark on one of their toughest challenges, when they gear up to face Australia in a four-match Test series against Australia Down Under from December 17. The Virat Kohli-led team did manage to clinch the series in 2018-19, but they will face a sterner test this time around with the return of Steve Smith.
India have a few issues to resolve before the Day-Night Test begins in Adelaide, and we think of three questions that they need to address.
Who will open?
Team India have several opening batsmen to choose from, with Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Prithvi Shaw in the ranks. Team India need to find a suitable player to play alongside Mayank, who is expected to open the innings after a great start to his Test career. Shaw, despite being vastly talented, struggled against the moving ball in the latter half of the Indian Premier League and in the warm-up games, which might have cost him a place in the XI for the first Test. Shubman Gill looks the front-runner to take the field on December 17 with scores of 29, 43, and 65 in the last three innings that he played in the warm-up matches, but over the years, Virat Kohli has not shied away from playing a player in Test cricket based on his white-ball credentials.
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This is where KL Rahul comes into the scene. The wicket-keeper is in excellent form in ODIs and T20s and could edge into the XI. With a hundred to his name in Tests in England, Kohli might opt to go in for experience in the first game, and the toss-up between Gill and Rahul will be interesting.
The wicket-keeper’s conundrum
The biggest question for Team India remains – picking a keeper who can bat or a keeper who might not have the best numbers but is known for his agility behind the stumps. While Rishabh Pant got a hundred in the second warm-up game, Saha got a patient 50 in the first, which has further compounded problems for Team India.
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The left-hander has the skills to turn games around with the bat in a session, and though he had a poor IPL, there is no denying the talent that he possesses. He has Test tons in England and Australia, but his weak link is his wicket-keeping. He is not the safest keeper around, and his ability with the gloves against pace in the bouncy conditions Down Under is questionable.
Saha, on the other hand, is highly rated as a keeper in the world. He is agile, has great skills against both pace and spin, and can convert half chances into spectacular catching or stumpings. The area he lacks is his batting, and though he had a good run in the IPL, he does not have the best numbers in Test cricket since his ton against Australia in 2017.
The solution? If Hanuma Vihari bats at number six, India might play Saha as a specialist. If Team India play five bowlers, they might get in Pant at 6 to bolster their batting.
The third seamer?
While Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to lead the attack, the absence of Ishant Sharma throws open several choices. Will Kohli go in for Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, or Navdeep Saini as the third seamer? Though Siraj has fine numbers in FC cricket, we back Umesh to make the XI, considering his experience. Though Siraj bowled well in patches in the warm-ups, India are unlikely to throw the ball to a debutant right away, and it is likely that Umesh finds a place.