"That's a tough one and selectors have a choice" - Ravi Shastri offers a radical option to solve India's top-order crisis in Rohit Sharma's absence
Former India player and head coach Ravi Shastri has offered a solution to the Men in Blue's ongoing selection debacle at the top of the order in Rohit Sharma's absence. The Indian skipper is highly likely to miss the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series opener in Perth, leaving management the task of finding Yashasvi Jaiswal's batting partner at the top of the order.
The Indian squad has a reserve opener in the form of Abhimanyu Easwaran. However, the right-handed batter's recent displays against Australia 'A' in the unofficial Test series have been far from encouraging. The touring party also boasts two batters, who used to open for Team India in the past, namely Shubman Gill and KL Rahul.
Ravi Shastri has backed Shubman Gill to open the innings and succeed, while slotting KL Rahul at No.3 in his predicted playing XI for the first Test.
"That's a tough one and selectors have a choice. You can push Shubman (Gill) back up the order and he has opened in the past in Australia. Otherwise, you'll have to then make an alternative. Easwaran hasn't done that well (for India A in Australia). But it's how he's batting in the nets, how Rahul is batting in the nets. But that Shubman Gill option is also there," Shastri said on the latest edition of the ICC Review.
Gill made his Test debut in Australia, and impressed one and all with his strong ability to play square of the wicket and playing on top of the bounce. He recorded 259 runs in three Tests at an average of 51.80, which included a couple of fifties.
With usual suspects Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant forging the rest of the middle-order, Shastri named Dhruv Jurel at No.6 as a specialist batter after his recent heroics in the second unofficial Test against Australia 'A' at the MCG.
"I think he can easily play as a specialist batter. What impressed me most was his temperament, his calmness when the chips were down and the tightness he brought to his game - especially under pressure. Under pressure, you can see a lot of players struggling. You can see them being fidgety. You can see them being all over the shop. You can see those nerves coming through. But in this guy's case, his temperament stood out," Shastri elaborated.
Jurel played for India A after being on the bench for the entire home season. The right-handed batter was the sole batter that was able to make an impression in alien conditions. He recorded twin fifties (80 and 68) in the six-wicket defeat.
"Nitish Reddy will have to do a job like Shardul Thakur did as the fourth seamer" - Ravi Shastri
As far as the bowling composition was concerned, Shastri opined that bouncy conditions in Perth would demand a seam-heavy bowling attack. India have named three spinners in the squad, with the in-form Washington Sundar being in contention alongside the veteran pair of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Shastri also feels that rookie all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy will have a huge role to bring balance and depth to the side.
"Do they want two spinners? Do they want to risk going in with two spinners or do they want to take Nitish Reddy? Nitish Reddy will have to do a job like Shardul Thakur did as the fourth seamer. He can bat a bit, give the bowlers a little bit of respite so that they can bowl in short spells…and be someone who will have to be good for those eight to 10 overs that he bowls. So that would be my pick, seeing the conditions," Shastri added.
The former coach made the straightforward choice regarding the pace bowling attack, as Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep complete the predicted playing XI.
Ravi Shastri's predicted XI: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja/Washington Sundar, Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, and Mohammed Siraj.