If there is something that draws attention immediately to the Indian squad for the tour of Australia, it’s the number of fast bowlers. For the five-Test series, there are five in the side of 18 — Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana. Plus, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Navdeep Saini have been added as travelling reserves.
From the outside, eight pace options is an unusually high number. Rarely, possibly never, have India travelled with so many of them. Obviously, only five are the first-choice options, but effectively, the team can choose from eight if need be. Five Tests over a month and-a-half is a gruelling tour and the team management wants to make sure that they are not short on resources in case of breakdowns.
On one hand, this appears to be a safety-first approach. Other than Bumrah and Siraj, the other three in the primary squad are newcomers. Deep has played four Tests, Prasidh two and Rana none. Of the reserves, Mukesh has the experience of three Tests, Saini two, while Khaleel the left-armer, is yet to play any. The number of bowlers is high, but their cumulative Test experience is low.
This suggests that the team management and selectors don’t want to take chances. Apparently, they are not sure how many of these bowlers will be up to the mark and that’s why they have packed the squad with so many of them. This may look like some sort of lack of faith in their abilities. If A doesn’t click, B will and if B doesn’t, then C will and so on.
On the other hand, this can also be seen as a wise decision. Some of the Indian fast bowlers are injury-prone and this includes Bumrah, who is unquestionably the best of the lot. Five Test matches on hard Australian grounds can test their body. Chances of niggles in the lower parts like calf, knee and ankle are high. The team may need back-ups in that case and they will be readily available under this arrangement.
In this context, the 2020-21 series Down Under comes to mind. A number of players suffered injuries on that tour and India still snatched a remarkable come-from-behind win, riding on the performances of the reserves. Saini was one of them back then. T Natarajan was another. Not part of the original squad, they made their presence count when the first-choice bowlers were not fit for selection.
For More Sports Related Content Click here
After India won that series, experts like Ian Chappell had reckoned that one reason was the limited options used by Australia. He had said that because the hosts used the same four bowlers in all four Tests, they were not as fit or fresh as their Indian counterparts. Not by choice, but by compulsion India had to field many bowlers, which worked to their advantage.
The other positive of having so many fast bowlers is from the point of view of grooming them. As can be seen, only two of the eight have sufficient experience of playing at this level. The other six have a combined experience of 11 Tests between them. It’s important for them to get a feel of what is required at the highest level. Being with the team can be a great way of learning.
With uncertainty over the future of Mohammed Shami and Bumrah not getting any younger, it’s important for India to form a pool of fast bowlers for the future. A tour of Australia is a great opportunity to assess the resources, even if not all of them get a chance to play. That way, the positives of carrying so many of them outweigh the negatives.
Also Read: Rohit’s lean patch not a good sign for India ahead of massive series in Australia