India's deputy coach Ryan ten Doeschate on Monday suggested that the team is inclined towards using two spinners in the second Test at Edgbaston, although an official word on premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah's availability is yet to come and will be decided within the next 24 hours.
With India 0-1 down in the five-match series, the team has a critical selection headache. Although Bumrah is still a possibility, the management is being prudent with his workload, with arrangements already made to play him only in three of the five Tests.
He's fine to play the game clearly. We know from the beginning he's only going to be playing three out of the five. He's had eight days off since the last test," Doeschate stated.
"But with conditions and workload and how we feel we can best handle for the next four games, we haven't made a decision on that. We're going to have a look at what the other blokes are with their workload as well.".
"If we do think there's value in playing him in this Test, then we'll make that decision right on the final minute. But I'm referring to weather, the way the pitch is going to hold up. Are we more likely to benefit by keeping him back for Lord's and potentially Manchester or the Oval? So it's all those variables."
Pleased with Bumrah's form, asked if it was a temptation to play him with India trailing in the series, Doeschate confessed it was on the cards but said, "It is, but we feel also that we can go 1-1 or have the score at 1-0 without Jasprit. Again, that's playing the eggs at the back of the series. We're going to need him at some point as well. You've got to choose when you're going to play your best hand."
He went on, "We got very close without Jasprit in the second half (at Leeds). He didn't take any wickets. But you can't win the Test series with only one bowler anyway. Sorry, I can't give you a more definite answer. But we'll figure out in the next 24 hours how.
During Monday's practice, Bumrah started with the red and white balls in his hand but practiced with the Dukes ball only towards the end, delivering about three overs. On the other hand, fellow pacers Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Prasidh Krishna bowled a lot at the beginning of the practice.
Spin Duo Likely for Edgbaston Clash
With Edgbaston also likely to provide batting conditions akin to Leeds—and with warm weather being forecast—India appears set to introduce a second spinner, for whom they were short in the first Test. The pitch now has around 11 to 12 mm of grass but below that, it looks very dry, something that could work in the hands of spinners.
"There is a very good possibility of playing two spinners. It's just which two we play. And that relates to the original question of juggling the batting depth. All three spinners are bowling very nicely," said Doeschate.
Out of the three spinners—Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Washington Sundar—only two are likely to find a place. Although Kuldeep is being heavily considered because of his ability to pick wickets, Sundar's batting capability strengthens his case.
"Washi's batting very well. So it's just who combination do we choose? All-rounder spinner or the out-and-out spinner? And you have to play the bowling all-rounder again. So there's so many different variables," he clarified.
"But I'm fairly certain two spinners will play in this Test," Doeschate insisted, even as rain is predicted on the first day of the match.
India opted for Shardul Thakur as a bowling all-rounder in the last game, but his modest contribution with bat and ball can lead to modifications. Batting all-rounder Nitish Reddy now is a strong contender for the position.
"He's pretty close to playing a game. Clearly, he was amazing in Australia. To come into the team and play as he did," Doeschate added. "We just felt on balance for the previous game, we wanted to field with the bowling all-rounder. Which we believed Shardul was marginally ahead with the bowling. We're exploring methods of reshuffling the puzzle, so we can fit a batting all-rounder into it.".
Nitish is our top-class batting all-rounder now. So I would say it's a very good opportunity to play this test."
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who lost four catches at Leeds—the majority in the slip area—will not be manning the gully in the next game. In fielding practice on Monday, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, and captain Shubman Gill were stationed in the main slip cordon, whereas Nitish Reddy and Sai Sudharsan moved between fourth slip and gully.
We always need depth in the catching department. In England, you're going to have four catchers at some point in the game. Yashasvi has been a very good catcher for us. We want to deal with his confidence," said Doeschate.
He suggested that a brief respite from the high-pressure catching areas may assist Jaiswal in getting back to his composure. "There's also an argument that the short leg is a very crucial position, especially if we're going to play two spinners. And we would like to select more players in that role. So the more flexible we are as a fielding team, the more guys can do more things.".
And perhaps just give Yashasvi a break from gully-catching for a bit. His hands are quite battered. We want to get him going again," he added.
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