Ashwin or Jadeja - Who should be the first choice spinner in Australia?

For India’s tour of Australia, India will be selecting 3 spinners in the squad that is to say Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Out of these 3, Kuldeep Yadav would take the back seat to start off with and it should be a battle between Ashwin and Jadeja to choose the lone spinner for a spot in the starting XI.

In recent away series, it has been India's much-vaunted batting line-up that has struggled in overseas conditions. To strengthen the batting, India might go in with an extra middle-order batsman and thus would be left with four bowling positions.

Out of these four bowlers, three would be the quick blowers, which leave a solitary place for the spinner. Even if India play five bowlers, they would go in with four fast bowlers to suit the conditions, more so after Umesh Yadav’s stupendous performance in the West Indies series.

In the upcoming tour down under, India play four Test matches in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney. Virat Kohli might be tempted to go in with two spinners in the last Test match in Sydney where the wicket traditionally favours the spinners.

Adelaide is another venue where there will always be something in it for the slow bowlers. Since Adelaide is hosting the first Test match of the series, India might not take the risk of playing two spinners in the game.

That brings us to the interesting question – Who should be the first choice spinner for the first three Test matches between Ashwin and Jadeja?

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Factors favouring Ashwin

Ashwin had an impressive tour of Australia in 2014

#1 Australia are expected to have at least five left-handed batsmen in their line-up namely Usman Khawaja, Matt Renshaw, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, and Mitchell Starc. Ashwin, the off-spinner, would relish the opportunity to bowl to these left-handed batsmen.

#2 In the previous tour of Australia in 2014, Ashwin took 12 wickets in three Test matches, an impressive performance by a spinner Down Under. India managed to draw two of those three Tests, as Virat Kohli preferred Karn Sharma for Ashwin in the first Test in Adelaide.

#3 Ashwin, being 6ft 2'', is quite tall and could extract more bounce on the bouncy Australian pitches.

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Factors against Ashwin

Outside Asia, Ashwin's batting average dips

#1 The presence of left-handed batsmen in the opposition batting line up doesn’t always guarantee success for Ashwin. In the England series, England had as many as seven left-handers in their line-up but the Chennai man was successful only in the first Test match.

#2 Ashwin has had his fitness worries in the longer version of the game in recent times. Besides, at times, it becomes difficult for Kohli to hide Ashwin in the field.

#3 In recent times, Ashwin has been criticized for trying too many variations in his bowling in Test matches. This has affected Ashwin’s clarity of thought as a bowler.

#4 Ashwin’s batting abilities vanish in away series. He cannot be relied upon on the batting front if India decides to go in with five bowlers. Ashwin's overall batting average is 30. He has scored four centuries and 11 fifties. But when it comes to matches in other countries, Ashwin's batting average dips to 26. He has scored just five fifties and no centuries in 24 completed innings. A sharp contrast in performance. Ashwin's both the half-centuries came at Sydney in 2011 and 2015 respectively. Otherwise, Ashwin had a poor record as a batsman abroad.

Factors favouring Jadeja

Jadeja is in fine form with the bat

#1 Ravindra Jadeja’s recent form with both the bat and ball has been fantastic, and he is fresh from his maiden Test century.

#2 Jadeja showed his skills both with the bat and ball at the Oval Test when he replaced Ashwin. Though the main criterion for selection between Ashwin and Jadeja is their bowling skills, India would need to utilise all their available resources to face the Australian challenge.

#3 In Test matches, Jadeja can hold one end up with his economical bowling. Kohli can rotate and attack with the fast bowlers at the other end. Jadeja is a more accurate wicket-to-wicket bowler.

#4 Outside Asia, Jadeja is a better batsman than Ashwin. Jadeja has contributed with the bat whenever India decided to go in with five bowlers. The fact that he is a left-hander in the middle-order is an added advantage. Jadeja's overall batting average in 39 matches is 32. His batting average in SENA countries is equally good at 28 with two fifties in eight Test matches.

#5 Jadeja, with his aggressive intent, can bat better with the tail.

#6 Jadeja is definitely a better fielder than Ashwin. Jadeja is the live wire in the field and his very presence would lift the fielding standards of the entire team.

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Factors against Jadeja

Jadeja is yet to play a Test match in Australia

#1 Jadeja is yet to play a Test match in Australia.

#2 If you leave aside the Oval Test, the last time Jadeja played in a Test match in a SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) country was in England in 2014. Jadeja lacks the experience of playing in alien conditions in recent times.

#3 Jadeja lacks the variety to surprise the batsmen on unresponsive wickets.

Comparative records of Ashwin and Jadeja in SENA countries:

Ashwin

Matches - 15, Wickets 42, Runs scored - 616 Bat. Avg- 26, 50s - 2

Jadeja

Matches - 8, Wickets - 25, Runs scored - 366, Bat. Avg - 28, 50s -2

The above figures don't throw too much light into the debate. On current form, Jadeja should be the obvious choice when it comes down to these two. Ashwin is an intelligent cricketer but of late has struggled to adapt to alien conditions.

Between Ashwin and Jadeja, whoever plays the first Test in Adelaide would be delighted that he would not be up against David Warner and Steve Smith. A wonderful prospect for India to win a Test series in Australia.