Bruised and broken India’s tough Brisbane dilemma
With Jasprit Bumrah “a very doubtful starter” for the Brisbane Test, skipper Rahane may have to play any set of 11 fit players
MUMBAI: Unbroken in spirit, but physically “bruised” and “broken”, as captain Ajinkya Rahane put it, the Indian team now has a casualty list so long that Rahane may have to simply play any set of 11 players who are fit when the final Test of a tantalisingly poised series against Australia starts in Brisbane on Friday. On Tuesday, the team management announced that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was “a very doubtful starter” for the match after he suffered an abdominal strain in the drawn Test in Sydney. He was taken for scans, and a decision on his fitness is expected on Wednesday.
Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s match-saving hero from in Sydney, spoke only half in jest when he told broadcasters on Monday: “I think what Ajinkya is going to do is hop out of the dressing room and call 11 of us, and whoever is ready to go will go (in the Brisbane Test). We are losing people in a hurry. We have lost people every single game. ”
Let’s look at the list of injuries — Ishant Sharma did not recover in time from an injury before the tour; Mohammed Shami was ruled out with a fractured arm after being hit by a bouncer in the first Test; Umesh Yadav was ruled out with a calf strain during the second Test; KL Rahul injured his wrist during a practice session and flew back home; another of the Sydney heroes Hanuma Vihari was ruled out after pulling a hamstring during the Test; and so was Ravindra Jadeja, who dislocated his thumb during the third Test and underwent a surgery on his bowling hand on Tuesday.
“Out of action for a while, surgery completed. But will soon return with a bang!” Jadeja tweeted on Tuesday. India, needless to say, are already without the services of Virat Kohli, who flew home for the birth of his first child after the first Test.
If Bumrah is unable to play at Brisbane, the Indian bowling attack will resemble a parade of debutants. Mohammed Siraj, now all of two Tests old after having made his debut in Melbourne, will be the most experienced fast bowler in the line-up. Navdeep Saini made his debut in Sydney. Shardul Thakur, who may also make the playing XI simply because he is available, has bowled all of 10 balls in a Test match — in his debut Test in 2018, where he got injured. And then there is T Natarajan, who is a net bowler for the Test series but made his ODI and T20 debuts during the tour after a sensational IPL season.
There is an irony here — a fitagain Ishant, who the Indian Board had disallowed from travelling with the contingent to continue his rehab in Australia, is now taking wickets at the Mushtaq Ali trophy. Double irony — India sent a much larger than usual squad of 22 players to Australia to cover for injuries as the bio-bubble rules would have made it near-impossible for players to travel from India as replacements mid-tour.
Bumrah experienced abdominal pain during the second innings of the Sydney Test, and took a breather for treatment before continuing to bowl. His problems may be a consequence of increased workload — he has bowled 117.4 overs in six innings, the most among pacers from both teams. The pitch at the Gabba has historically been fast and bouncy, an if it has enough green on it this time, there could be a temptation to play both Thakur and the uncapped Natarajan alongside Siraj and Saini.
Ashwin, who struggled with back spasms during the third Test, will likely fight through pain to be the only experienced bowler in the side. One option is to ignore the pitch and play Kuldeep Yadav for a double-spin attack. A completely quirky move would be to draft into the squad Washington Sundar, who is in Australia as a net bowler, and hand him a debut. Sundar began as a batsman in his formative years, and his batting average is double of his equally impressive average bowling offspin (26) in 12 first-class matches.
The batting
Rishabh Pant, who was also hit on the elbow during the third Test and had to sit out Australia’s second innings, is expected to retain his place as wicketkeeper. He will not be picked as a specialist batsman so that India can play five bowlers, according to people in the team management who asked not to be named. As things stand, that would mean the exclusion of Wriddhiman Saha, and one of the two dropped openers, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw, being called up to replace Vihari. But Agarwal took a blow on the hand too in the nets; he has to pass a fitness test too.
With the team in tatters, that India still goes into the fourth Test with the series undecided and great expectations of an epic fight is a testament to the team’s resolve, strategic nous, and toughness.