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Cricket Players‘He has got his fair due’: India coach on Saransh Jain's long domestic grind and what made his Test debut stand out
India's spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule praised debutant, Saransh Jain's long domestic grind, and composure on debut.
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Saransh Jain had waited more than a decade for his opportunity in Test cricket. When it finally arrived at the age of 33 in Colombo, the Madhya Pradesh off-spinner had to wait a little longer for his first international wicket too. Jain came into India's XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka after building his case through the domestic circuit rather than being fast-tracked through the system. Before his Test debut, he had played 54 first-class matches, taking 188 wickets at an average of 27.31 while also scoring 2,223 runs. His first-class career had begun back in the 2014-15 season.
The numbers, however, could only partially prepare him for what unfolded during Sri Lanka's first innings at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Jain twice thought he had his maiden Test wicket, only for reviews to go against him. He eventually had his moment on the fourth morning, dismissing Lahiru Kumara for 12 before removing centurion Sonal Dinusha for 103 to finish with 2/69. Those wickets ended Sri Lanka's innings at 290, 213 behind India's 503/9 declared, allowing Shubman Gill to enforce the follow-on.
By stumps, Sri Lanka had reached 229/6 in their second innings, moving 16 runs ahead but with only four wickets remaining. India remained firmly placed to push for a series-clinching victory on the final day. For India spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule, though, Jain's first Test has been about more than the wickets. He believes the debutant has already shown why years of work in domestic cricket eventually earned him an opportunity at the highest level.
'He has got his fair due'
“For me, Saransh has toiled a lot in domestic cricket over the years. And he has got his fair due. And that opportunity to make a debut for India is special,” Bahutule said at the press conference after Day 4.
Bahutule acknowledged that the adjustment from domestic cricket to a Test debut inevitably came with nerves, particularly when early chances and decisions did not fall Jain's way. “There are nerves. You are not going to be as at ease when you are playing your first Test match compared to when you are playing a domestic game. But he showed a lot of character in spite of certain decisions not going in his way and him not getting those wickets early in the first innings,” he said.
What impressed the former India spinner most was Jain's ability to remain disciplined despite those setbacks. “But he was very consistent in his line and length,” Bahutule said.
He then offered a detailed explanation of why India consider Jain different from some of their other spin options. “He is a peculiar bowler, a unique bowler in the sense he doesn't have that over-spin, which is again work in progress behind the scenes. He possesses that side-spin which is good, which gives him that drift.”
Bahutule also highlighted Jain's trajectory and pace through the air as important parts of his method.
“His flat trajectory is very good. And he is also of a speed range between 80-85. And that makes him unique.”
That difference becomes particularly useful in an attack which already contains Ravindra Jadeja and young left-arm spinner Manav Suthar. Rather than offering India another version of the same challenge, Bahutule believes Jain's characteristics provide variation. “When we have two more spinners with Jaddu and Manav, he brings that variety,” he said.
Jain's first Test wickets also came at an important stage. Sri Lanka's lower order had prolonged the first innings through Dinusha and Kumara, but Jain removed both on the fourth morning and ensured the hosts could not get close enough to India's total to prevent the follow-on. “I think he put in a fabulous effort. Whatever role was given to him, he has played it to the best,” Bahutule said. “And whenever he got that opportunity, he picked up wickets and got us back into the game.”
