Two factors that will decide India's playing XI in the Sydney Test
Leading the four-match Test series by 2-1, India will be playing their last Test on the tour which will decide the fate of the Test series. Although 2-2 looks nothing close to bad, Virat Kohli and men will be eager to make 3-1 while making themselves a part of the historic triumph in the backyard of Australia.
Having overpowered the Australians at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, India will be moving to Sydney for the last Test. The preparations are in full swing as India has announced the 13-man squad for the fourth Test but with a lot of surprises, an indicative of Virat and Shastri's tenure as the leaders of this side. The absolute shock is the inclusion of KL Rahul over Murali Vijay with the latter at least being in a better space than the former.
Also read: India's 13 for the fourth Test announced
Besides, Ishant Sharma has also missed out on the 13-man squad. BCCI seems to have rested Ishant for the fourth Test. Umesh Yadav has replaced him in the 13-man squad. Another addition to the list is of Kuldeep Yadav who has also made it to the squad. Thus, with a lot of permutation and combinations available to the Indian team, the team selection remains to be an arduous task.
India's 13-man squad for the Sydney Test Test: Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Rishabh Pant (WK), KL Rahul, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
Nonetheless, let us look at two factors that will be deciding India's playing XI for the fourth and final Test.
#1 R Ashwin's fitness status
Ravichandran Ashwin, whom the team management declared unfit to play the fourth Test earlier, has also been included in the 13-man squad. This very move of team India confirms that they are still not sure about Ashwin's chances of recovering for the Sydney Test. Moreover, BCCI will take a call on Ashwin just before the toss time on Thursday morning.
With Ravindra Jadeja set to find a place in the final XI, the toss-up will be between Ashwin and Kuldeep. If Ashwin loses the race against time to be fit, Kuldeep Yadav will be a sure shot addition to India's playing XI in Sydney. But, if BCCI declares Ashwin fit to play, India will be in a grave dilemma to choose between Kuldeep and Ashwin. Moreover, it is worthy to note that if Ashwin is fit, India might go for three spinners as well.
All in all, the offie's fitness status will be pivotal in churning out a final XI for the Sydney Test.
#2 The nature of the pitch at SCG
Another factor that will prove to be instrumental in marking out the playing XI for the fourth Test is the Sydney Cricket Ground's nature of the pitch on the eve of the final Test.
Tim Paine has said that they will be finalizing their playing XI after analyzing the SCG pitch. Hence, it is apparent that the pitch will be playing an influential role in picking the playing XI. Moreover, the fact that SCG doesn't have a drop-in pitch makes the argument much healthier.
The news from the camp is that SCG is envisioned to be a rank turner which will be helping the spinners a lot. Hence, if it happens to be so, we might see India, in case of Ashwin's injury, fielding two specialist spinners (Jadeja and Kuldeep) and two fast bowlers (Bumrah and Shami) for tomorrow's game.
However, if Ashwin is fit, Virat might be tempted to play three spinners and two pacemen at the SCG. Although this combination seems to be fit for India-like pitches, this possibility can't be ruled out. Thus, the turf will be a deciding factor to India's plans in Sydney.