Indian Test captain Shubman Gill kept his cards close to the chest over the rotation of his premier fast-bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, in the upcoming two-match series against the West Indies. He hinted that India was tempted to begin the first game, in Ahmedabad, from October 2, with three pacers, suggesting both Bumrah and Siraj could start, but said that nothing after that was ‘pre-decided’.
Not ‘pre-decided’ would be in contrast to the last Test series, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, especially in regards to Bumrah. The team management had planned to play him only in three of the five Tests months before the tour began, and it was strictly followed as Bumrah was not fielded in the fifth match despite the series being on the line.
Siraj, on the other hand, was the only pacer across the two teams to play all Tests.
“Nothing is pre-decided,” Gill said at the pre-series press conference on Wednesday. “We will take a call once the Test match is over and (after assessing) how our fast bowlers feel and how their bodies feel after the match,” he added.
He added that even though India have a packed schedule ahead of them, with a tour of Australia and a home series against South Africa to follow, India will make workload calls on a match-by-match basis depending on how long the games last.
“You’ll know our playing XI tomorrow,” Gill said. “Yes, looking at the conditions, we might be tempted to go with a third seamer. But there’s still time. In the morning we’ll see how much moisture is in the wicket and then take a call,” he added.
The character of the pitches on offer in Ahmedabad and Delhi would be interesting to see. Generally, India prepare spin-friendly tracks for visitors but that backfired brutally against New Zealand, who came prepared for rank-turners and whitewashed Indi 3-0.
“I can’t say what the conversations were before I became the captain but we want wickets that offer something to both batters and bowlers,” Gill said. “That said, everyone knows that in India the challenges are spin and reverse swing. If visiting teams handle those well, they’ll succeed. Keeping that in mind, we’ll look for balance,” he added.
