IND vs BAN 2024-25: What would be India's probable spin combination against Bangladesh in upcoming Test series?
India will play 10 Tests in the next five months to seal a spot in the 2023-2025 World Test Championship final. The 10-match run will start with a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, followed by a three-match Test series against New Zealand at home. India will then travel to Australia for a five-match Test series. They are currently focussing on the home tests. The talks will be mostly on the spin combination India are likely to field. They will first eye the two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home to get their spin combination in place. First, let’s look at India bowlers' performance in the ongoing WTC cycle.
India bowlers’ performance, 2023-25 WTC cycle
Player | Tests | Wickets | Average | 5W/10W |
R Ashwin | 8 | 42 | 21.69 | 4/1 |
Jasprit Bumrah | 6 | 31 | 15.35 | 2/0 |
Ravindra Jadeja | 7 | 26 | 22.57 | 1/0 |
Mohammed Siraj | 8 | 22 | 24.45 | 2/0 |
Kuldeep Yadav | 4 | 19 | 20.15 | 1/0 |
Axar Patel | 2 | 5 | 41.20 | 0/0 |
India bowlers performance in home Tests, 2023-25 WTC cycle
Player | Tests | Wickets | Average | 5 Wickets |
R Ashwin | 5 | 26 | 24.8 | 2 |
Jasprit Bumrah | 4 | 19 | 36.13 | 1 |
Ravindra Jadeja | 4 | 19 | 25.05 | 1 |
Mohammed Siraj | 4 | 6 | 46.00 | 0 |
Kuldeep Yadav | 4 | 19 | 20.15 | 1 |
Axar Patel | 2 | 5 | 41.20 | 0 |
A look at the current WTC cycle shows that Ravichandran Ashwin is the leading wicket-taker for India with 42 wickets in 8 Tests, followed by Jasprit Bumrah (31 wickets in 6 Tests) and Ravindra Jadeja (26 wickets in 7 Tests). Kuldeep Yadav is not far behind at fifth with 19 wickets in 4 Tests.
In the five Tests India played at home against England in the current WTC cycle, Ashwin leads the bowling charts with 26 wickets, showing his dominance over opponents on Indian pitches. Bumrah, Kuldeep, and Jadeja have 19 wickets each in the home Tests this cycle.
Possible combinations for the Bangladesh series
Going by the last Test series against England at home, the spin trio of Ashwin-Jadeja-Kuldeep took 64 out of 100 English wickets in the series. The trio was a great success in the series as they helped India bounce back after losing the first Test and win the series 4-1.
Persist with the same combination
First, they bowled well in tandem in the England series, as bowlers gave little room for the opposition to breathe easy and score runs off. They were helped by Bumrah’s quality bowling on flat pitches. But it could not be denied that India spinners were all over England's batters. Although Bangladesh have been playing on similar pitches back home, facing quality spinners in Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep in Indian conditions would be a stiff challenge to overcome. Hence, India are set to continue with the winning spin combination.
Also, these three spinners are as different as chalk and cheese. While Ashwin is an off-break bowler, Kuldeep is a chinaman, and Jadeja is an orthodox left-arm slow bowler. Such a variety in the spin attack gives an edge over the opponents, who would struggle to adjust to the different trajectory, spin, pace, and bounce of India’s spin trio.
Axar Patel too in the fray
In the last few seasons, Axar Patel has developed into a quality all-rounder, getting a preference over his counterpart Jadeja. In the successful 2024 World T20 campaign, Axar was the captain’s go-to man in both bowling and batting, while Jadeja had poor returns in the tournament.
Still, Jadeja is the first-choice spinner to combine with Ashwin in Tests. The two have bowled well in tandem and scripted many memorable Test victories at home. If Jadeja is unable to regain his form, Axar is a like-for-like replacement for him. Both Jadeja and Axar could likely play while Kuldeep sits out to add depth to the batting as both southpaws are quality batters as well. But Kuldeep is no mug with the bat. In the recent past, Kuldeep raked up some useful cameos with the bat lower down the order.
The final spin combination can be determined by a strategic choice. On one hand, including both Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in the XI would bolster the batting lineup. On the other hand, opting for a trio of Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav could effectively bamboozle the opposition with a diverse spin attack.
Looking beyond Ashwin-Jadeja
Both Ashwin and Jadeja are at the fag end of their careers, with both above 35. They might have a few seasons left in their tank, but India, under coach Gautam Gambhir, would already be looking to put a bank of spinners to rely on if Ashwin or Jadeja fade away in the twilight of their careers.
In that case, Gambhir would look to bet on a few spinners who have always knocked on the doors but didn’t get a chance with Ashwin-Jadeja holding the fort on the international stage. Washington Sundar is one such prospect who has always done well in the limited opportunities he has received in all formats of the game. Not only is Sundar a wily off-spinner, he is a technically sound batter who can play as a floater in the XI. Hence, Gambhir might look to add Sundar to the squad as well to have a backup all-rounder while also grooming him to take the baton from Ashwin or Jadeja.
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