CHENNAI: One of the main reasons for India's success in the longest format when Ravi Shastri, as head coach, and Virat Kohli, as captain, were at helm was their ability to take 20 wickets. Back then, the sport was going through a pace pandemic and India had three top pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, with Umesh Yadav and others chipping in. The emphasis, more often than not, was on taking the pitch out of the equation and picking up 20 wickets no matter where they play.
In 2024, things are not the same. Globally there seems to be a paradigm shift in how pitches play. They are predominantly batting-friendly, which means the quality of the pace attack becomes all the more important. Now, the Perth Stadium, where India will take on Australia in the first of the five Tests on Friday, is not a batting paradise as such. It is expected to have pace, bounce and assist the fast bowlers.
However, the Indian attack is not what it used to be. Yes, Bumrah is the core that holds it all together. In fact, he will be leading the team on to the field as well. But he will not have Shami or Sharma to rely on. Instead, he will have to pick two pacers from among Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Harshit Rana. Siraj made his debut in the last tour Down Under and has become the second important pacer of the team. His form might not be great, but whenever India tours overseas, the pacer has stepped up. The last time India played an away Test, Siraj was the player of the match, taking 6/15 in the first innings against South Africa in Cape Town.
In the last eight months, Akash Deep too has moved up the ranks but this will be his first big challenge outside India. Prasidh made his debut in South Africa but has been injury-prone and barely had long spells under his belt. Then there is Rana and youngster Nitish Kumar Reddy, both of whom rose to fame in the Indian Premier League and have been fast-tracked since. They are yet to make their Test debuts. Barring Bumrah and Siraj, India's pace battery has played a total of seven Tests among them.
When former South African pacer Morne Morkel was appointed as bowling coach, it was going to be one of his biggest challenges. To get the next-gen pacers ready for Test cricket, especially Australia where the veteran has had great success during his playing days. With less than 24 hours to go for the first Test, the task in front of Bumrah and the coaching staff is how to take 20 wickets. Morkel, however, is thrilled to see what is in store for Prasidh and Rana.
"It's great to have them around in the squad," Morkel said on Wednesday. "I think they add a lot of variation to their attack, especially Harshit, who bowls at a good pace, finds a way to also extract some bounce out of the surface. It's their first tour, Prasidh had a bit of experience with India A tour where he had a bit of game time, but for Harshit it's a bit of an unknown (territory). My message to him was just, when I toured my first time here, playing in Australia, an intimidating place, to listen to the stories, take their advice. But for me it's just staying in your own bubble and finding those experiences, working them out for yourself."
The South African also backed Reddy, the only seam-bowling all-rounder who is expected to make his debut in Perth.
"He'll be a guy that can sort of hold that one end up first. He hits the bat a little bit harder than you think. So in these sort of conditions where there might be a little bit of seam movement up front, especially the first couple of days. He'll be a very accurate wicket-to-wicket style of bowler. It's a lovely opportunity for him to hold that all-rounder spot. Any team in the world always wanted the all-rounder to take that load off your fast bowlers, just to give them an extra bit of breathing time. So how we use him, how Jasprit is going to use him, with maybe the spinner, to give himself, whoever's going to be the other quicks, time to catch their breath a little bit is going to be important. He's a guy that is a player you can keep your eye on in this series."
Although they do not have the experience, one thing India will take heart from is the fact that even in the 2020-21 tour the second half of the series was dominated by players who have never been to Australia and yet they delivered. More often than not, it is about getting the best possible bowling attack on the field. Which is where R Ashwin comes into play.
As things stand, India might go in with Ashwin over Ravindra Jadeja, and Reddy as two all-rounders followed by two or three frontline pacers. It all might come down to how much they trust Reddy to be the third seamer who can run in all day. Should Reddy be able to do that, it will not just allow India to play an extra batter, but also field Ashwin who will come in handy against the three left-handers and Steve Smith. While nothing is certain at the moment, 24 hours on, expect Bumrah to take the field with a bowling attack that would give their everything to take 20 wickets.