India are likely to hand Nitish Kumar Reddy his Test debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener on Friday in Perth. However, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar discarded head coach Gautam Gambhir's plan as he rather backed the playing XI to comprise their two premier spin-bowling all-rounders, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
The reports in the lead-up to the Test series opener at the Optus Stadium hinted that India will pick one spinner and four fast-bowling options in the playing XI. With Mohammed Shami missing, Jasprit Bumrah, the stand-in skipper, will be accompanied by Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, while Nitish will play the supporting act as pace all-rounder. The spin department, meanwhile, will only have Ashwin.
However, Gavaskar, in conversation with PTI, told Gambhir to pick his best bowling combination, implying Jadeja in place of Nitish, as he outlined the Test credentials of the two veteran spin all-rounders.
"I believe that you have to pick your best bowlers for the Test match, never mind how the pitch will behave. In Ashwin and Jadeja, we have bowlers who have taken almost 900 wickets between them. They also have between them more than half a dozen Test centuries under their belts," he said.
"Even if they may not get much help from the pitch, they can, with their skill and experience slow down the scoring and exert pressure on the batters," the former India skipper explained his rationale.
'KL Rahul performed in South Africa'
{{/usCountry}}"Even if they may not get much help from the pitch, they can, with their skill and experience slow down the scoring and exert pressure on the batters," the former India skipper explained his rationale.
'KL Rahul performed in South Africa'
{{/usCountry}}With regular captain Rohit Sharma missing the Perth Test due to a paternity break, India will have to pick between reserve opener Abhimanyu Easwaran and the experienced Rahul to partner Yashasvi Jaiswal on Friday. Going by reports and what the practice sessions have so far hinted, India are likely to pick Rahul, who has opened a fair bit for India in Test matches and scored a memorable hundred at Centurion last year. However, he has not been able to find consistency despite featuring in 53 Tests. But the India batter has the backing of Gavaskar.
"KL Rahul got one of the finest centuries that I have witnessed first-hand in South Africa last year opening the batting, so doing so here again won't be an issue for him. Like all batters he will need some luck at the start and if he gets that he can get the team off to a solid opening," Gavaskar said.