"If there's some moisture in the pitch, they will once again lean towards the fast bowlers" – Former India opener WV Raman
Former India opener WV Raman has refrained from suggesting changes for the fourth Test, saying the Indian team management can only come to a conclusion after reaching the venue and taking a look at the Oval surface.
After the highs of Lord’s, India crashed to an innings defeat in the third Test at Headingley as England squared the five-Test series 1-1. WV Raman acknowledged it won’t be easy for the Indian thinktank to zero in on possible changes immediately after the loss and added that it will also depend on the surface on offer at the Kennington Oval.
“As Virat said, it will be a case of them going out there and seeing what the pitch is like and what they think about the kind of surface that will be given to the Test match, and then decide on the eleven. Because it’s very difficult even for the team management to predict what will be the playing XI immediately upon losing a Test match and the next Test match is four days away, and they have not yet reached the venue,” Raman said in response to Sportskeeda’s question during an online interaction arranged by Sony.
The Indian cohort is currently on the go, traveling from Leeds to London by train. Going by history, The Oval aids spin, as was evident when India last played a Test at the venue in 2018. The spinners picked up 16 of the 38 wickets to fall, and notably, part-time off-spinner Hanuma Vihari accounted for three of them in the third innings.
While WV Raman did agree that past events would have a bearing on current selection, he reiterated that India would go for their 4-1 seam-spin combination if the surface has any moisture in it.
“Yes it’s being taken for granted, in Oval it’ll be dry because you tend to see more of sunshine in the southern parts of the UK, especially in London. But if the pitch has not been used much over a period of last two years or probably this season, and if there’s going to be some moisture in the pitch, I am sure they will once again lean more towards the fast bowlers.
“Yes past records and the events that happened on earlier tour will be taken into account, but whether that is something that will be repeated now is a big question. Because it’s not necessary for what happened in 2018 to repeat here again,” Raman, who played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs, added.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Sunday was taken for precautionary scans to assess his knee injury, and chances of veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin playing his first game of the tour have increased manifold.
Does the depth in the current Indian squad lead to insecurities among players?
Since the depth of the current Indian squad is immense, it becomes difficult for incumbent players to reclaim their places after they miss out due to injury and see their replacements grab the opportunities with both hands.
The cases of Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal and even Shardul Thakur are classic examples of this reality. While it can lead to insecurities among players, WV Raman stated that the team management hasn’t really picked anyone outside of the larger group. He opined that all the players would thus be content with the fact that they could be summoned any moment.
“One good thing they have done is that they have not gone outside a group that they have identified as the candidates who will able to deliver the goods in all formats. We saw that happen in Australia also, we saw that happening even in the lead-up to the England series.
“So the boys will be aware that they will be getting their chances as and when they can be provided. That is the reason why all these guys have put their hands up whenever they’ve been snuck into a pressure situation in Australia,” Raman, who served as the head coach of the national women’s team from December 2018 to May 2020, responded to Sportskeeda’s query.
The Oval Test is scheduled to start on Thursday (September 2) before the two sides travel to Manchester to partake in the final Test of the English summer from September 10.