Bumrah in for Windies Test series amidst debate over workload
Gomesh S @ Chennai
IT is official. Less than 90 hours after walking off the field in the Asia Cup final on Sunday, Jasprit Bumrah is set to take part in the first Test against West Indies in Ahmedabad on Thursday, October 2. The senior pacer, whose workload has been one of the biggest talking points in Indian cricket over the last few months, will be available for both the Tests, confirmed chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Thursday.
"We've had a fair break after England. He didn't play the fifth Test either. So, there's been a bit of a five-week break, and even this tournament has been fairly spaced out until this last week. So, no, he's ready and keen to play both Test matches," Agarkar said at a press conference in Dubai on Thursday.
That, however, was not all of it. Going by the squad named for the two Tests, it seems likely this is the end of the road for Karun Nair, with Devdutt Padikkal coming back from a long injury layoff. The same seems to be the case for senior pacer Mohammed Shami and back-up opener Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Meanwhile, B Sai Sudharsan is set to get a longer rope at No 3 with Axar Patel making a return to the Test side. The bowling all-rounder will be sharing the spin-bowling duties with Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, who has been named as the vice-captain for the series in the absence of Rishabh Pant. The veteran left-arm spinner was seen training for the series at the BCCI Centre of Excellence on Thursday, along with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. Similarly, Sarfaraz Khan was also spotted at the CoE on Thursday, whom Agarkar said was injured and still recovering. This will be the first time Jadeja plays a home Test without his long-time partner-in-crime — R Ashwin, who did not miss a single match in India before retiring last December.
The last time Ashwin and Jadeja played together in a Test was in the third match against New Zealand at Wankhede where India went on to lose the home series 0-3. Agarkar called that defeat a "wake up call" and said that they don't want it to happen again. "We've generally been very strong at home (for a long time). That was after a while, when we've had a few bad results, and we want to try and put it right. All four Test matches that we'll play at home to West Indies and to South Africa become very critical. Before the WTC, you want to try and get as many points as possible, particularly at home. It's a game, so anything is possible, but you don't want to try and let what happened against New Zealand happen again," Agarkar explained.
In many ways, it seems like the transition that began in the West Indies two years ago has come full circle with Jadeja being the lone senior player from the previous generation. While there have been changes in the line-up in trying to find out who fits in where post the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Agarkar said that continuity will be key going forward. "... as far as going forward is concerned, I mean, Sai has shown a lot of promise. We know he's a very good player. And hopefully, we can give him a longish run from now on, at a particular number. And when people like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma retire, those are big holes to fill here always. I mean, not to forget Ashwin a few months back, and Shami hasn't played for a while. Those guys have been, over the last 10 years, key players for the team. But, you know, a lot of these younger guys have shown some really good signs in England, which was a really tough tour. Hopefully, going forward, we can give these guys time to actually build their careers," said the former India all-rounder.
If the England tour marked the beginning of a new era under captain Shubman Gill, this home season will be key for India to take the momentum forward. As they are keen to ensure the home domination continues from hereon.