Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25: Should India opt for all seam bowling options in Gabba to reduce burden on Jasprit Bumrah? Let's discuss the pros and cons.
Ahead of the third Test at Brisbane against Australia, India might be contemplating to go with an all-pace attack and drop the lone spinner from the XI. The two Tests show that the spinners from either team had little to do on the pace-friendly conditions of Perth and Adelaide. For India, there has been an off-spinner included in the XI in both the Tests to have a go at left-handed batters in Australia’s XI. However, the spinner has managed to pick up just three wickets combined in the two Tests compared to 27 wickets by pacers out of total 30 Aussie wickets that fell.
Here’s a look at how India spinners and pacers have fared in the last two Tests.
Perth | Adelaide | Total | ||||
Overs | Wickets | Overs | Wickets | Overs | Wickets | |
Spinners | 17 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 35 | 3 |
Pacers | 93 | 18 | 72.5 | 9 | 165.5 | 27 |
India pacers dominate series so far
India spinners have taken 10 percent of total Aussie wickets and bowled 17 % of total overs in the two Tests. Majority of the work has been done by the pacers. Moreover, the pitch and conditions have favoured their type of bowling in the two Tests.
Brisbane Test demands pace strategy
The Brisbane Test, which begins on December 14, would offer the same kind of pitch and conditions favourable for pace bowling. Hence, it could be a good decision to drop the lone spinner in the XI and opt for another pacer who would not only add value but also give respite to the main bowling spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah. The India vice-captain can come back fresh for every spell.
Read More: Harshit Rana's inexperience hurts India in Adelaide; Was benching Akash Deep a wrong decision?
India’s pace bowling reserves
India have Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep in the squad. They can include either of them in place of the lone spinner in the XI. The bowling combination of Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Deep/Krishna with an all-rounder in Nitish Kumar Reddy can then constitute an all-pace attack on the Aussies, giving them no room to breathe easy. They can make the best use of the pace bowling conditions on offer at Brisbane and relentlessly attack the Aussie batters.
With five pace options, Bumrah can be given short menacing spells, while even Siraj can also get a breather as Krishna/Deep and Rana bowl in tandem. Reddy does not have the pace to rattle the opposition, but he has shown the knack of breaking partnerships and picking up wickets whenever given the ball. Hence, Reddy can be used sparingly to break the monotonous pace attack and pick up a wicket or two if the Aussies tend to relax against the fifth bowling option.
Who should be the four pacer for Brisbane?
Rana has had a forgettable Test at Adelaide. But he has the backing of captain Rohit Sharma who said “how could I drop Rana when he had done nothing wrong in his debut Test?” If Rana does keep his place, India’s only way to include a fourth pacer will be to drop the lone spinner. Deep is the favourite to be included in Brisbane as he has repeatedly troubled India batters in the nets. However, if Rana does get dropped, Deep will replace him. India may then go for another pacer in Krishna who is a similar “hit-the-deck” bowler like Rana.
Can India keep a spinner and replace Reddy with a pacer?
Sundar and Ashwin are credible batters. As off-spinners, they can be instrumental in keeping the left-handed Aussie batters in check at Brisbane. They also help in maintaining the overrate. Hence, India would have to make a tough call of dropping the spinner for a fourth pacer (or not). But if India do keep a spinner, the other option would be to choose a pacer in place of Reddy. The all-rounder has picked up two wickets in the two Tests but he has been used sparingly with the ball. A specialist pace bowler in place of Reddy would add more depth to the pace bowling unit.
India’s batting woes compound problems
However, considering India’s inconsistent batting and the lack of runs from the top-order batters, the team management has opted for a spin all-rounder in the XI in the last two Tests to boost the batting unit. Both Sundar and Ashwin played cameos with the bat in the two Tests. Meanwhile, Reddy also played a brilliant counter-attacking innings in the last two Tests lower down the order, giving some meat to the total. Dropping Reddy for a specialist pacer while keeping a spinner in the XI would be a tough call.
Likely final combination
But India might put faith on both Reddy and Rana for Brisbane and opt for a fourth seamer in Deep in place of a spinner to cover not only the batting depth but also boast of a four-pronged pace bowling unit.
So, here is India’s likely XI at Gabba– KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.
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