Here’s a small test. A piece of paper is given to you while sleeping and you’re asked to pick the current Indian Test team. In that, your job is to select the first name on the team sheet. The answer to that question is an obvious one – Jasprit Bumrah. In other words, the ace fast bowler has reached such impressive peaks in the recent past, that in an imaginary sense, even in deep sleep, one would pick him as the first name on the Indian team sheet.
However, just one cricketer’s contribution isn’t enough for a team to win. It needs a collective effort. So, what about the support cast to Bumrah? Who will be the second and third pacers in the XI? For now, Mohammed Siraj is pigeonholed to be the second pacer. The experienced pace bowler has had his share of success in places like South Africa and Australia. Although there is a school of thought that his control can go awry when the batters take the aggressive route. It would be imperative for Siraj to keep hitting the right lengths with especially the new ball.
The third pacer’s slot is still up for grabs. Who will it be? Arshdeep Singh is an option. The left-arm paceman swings the ball both ways. The trajectory of the path of his offerings also suggests that he gets a bit of late movement. And he has the left-arm angle to supplement his swing. Meanwhile, Prasidh Krishna put on a brilliant show in the just concluded IPL 2025. He also took six wickets in his previous Test at the SCG. That is all good, but are his skills suited to the conditions in England? Now, that is the crux of the question to be answered.
With Bumrah and Siraj as the two new-ball bowlers, it is perhaps better to look out for someone with a different skill set as the first-change bowler. In that respect, Prasidh’s hit-the-deck skills could come in handy. The hypothesis would be for him to bash it on a good length and eye extra bounce with a slightly older ball. Contrary to what many believe, he can swing the ball when he goes fuller: Inswinging yorkers to Cameron Bancroft and KL Rahul this year are prime examples.
On the other hand, Arshdeep has had his problems with the older ball. One of the reasons for Arshdeep’s rather modest average of 30.37 in first-class cricket is he seems to lack enough incisiveness with the old ball in hand. Moreover, when Arshdeep played for Kent in County cricket, he averaged close to 42.
In the eventual analysis, it comes down to the role that the management expects Prasidh or Arshdeep to fulfil. If the Indian think tank is eyeing a new-ball bowler with Siraj to come in as first-change, then Arshdeep is the right option. Meanwhile, Prasidh is the better bet with an old cherry in hand.
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