“Might come and play a little cameo on a spinning track” – Ravi Shastri dissects India’s middle-order men for Australia series

Suryakumar Yadav might be handed a Test debut in the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy for his T20-esque cameos, feels former India head coach Ravi Shastri. The four-Test series starts on Thursday, February 9 in Nagpur.

With regulars Rishabh Pant (recovering from a near-fatal car crash) and Shreyas Iyer (back injury) missing, the Indian think tank has been working overtime to revitalize the middle order. Shastri opined Surya’s counter-attacking knocks would prove to be critical on spinning tracks.

“Suryakumar Yadav might get the opportunity in that Test match. And he’s going to play his natural game. I think he’s one player who will be proactive. Especially with Nathan Lyon or the other spinners, he will be looking to score all the time, looking to rotate the strike. If you want to do well in India, you have got to rotate the strike. You can’t have bowlers bowling maidens at you. You have got to find a way where you want to score, not think of just blocking, because that can create real problems for you.

"So I think he will be very useful in that position. He might come and play a little cameo on a track that is spinning a lot, where a 30 or 40 could decide the fate of a game. And he can get it quickly and disrupt the opposition. So India will be thinking in that fashion there,” he said to a select group of journalists in a press conference organized by Star Sport

He played three innings for Mumbai in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, amassing 223 runs at a stunning strike rate of 95.70.

Ravi Shastri, though, didn’t rule out in-form opener Shubman Gill’s inclusion in the middle order. Recalling his game-changing 91 in India’s historic win at the Gabba in January 2021, the former all-rounder claimed that the Punjab lad should at least be in the final 12.

“I am not forgetting Gill, Shubman Gill. I’ll have a close eye on Shubman Gill the day before the game starts, after seeing the conditions. So if I have to announce the 12, Gill won’t be far. Don’t forget the last two innings he played against Australia – in Melbourne, he batted beautifully when India won; and at the Gabba, it was his innings that really set up the game. That 91 in the second innings was world-class,” the 60-year-old added.

In the form of his life in white-ball cricket, Gill’s scant experience of batting in the middle order in first-class cricket would give head coach Rahul Dravid and Co. some headache.

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“I would look for the better keeper” – Ravi Shastri weighs in on India's backup stumper

KL Rahul and KS Bharat during a training session in Nagpur [Credits: BCCI]

Rishabh Pant’s absence, though, will be the biggest blow. The hosts would not only miss a slayer with the bat in the middle order, but also a dependable gloveman. They have KS Bharat and southpaw Ishan Kishan to choose from.

Considering that all four tracks would aid spin as the match would progress, Ravi Shastri stated that India should go for the person with the better wicketkeeping skills, even if it comes at the cost of conservative batting.

“That’s a really tough call for India. That’s how important Rishabh Pant is. He ticks both the boxes – behind the stumps, not only has his keeping improved drastically but he can get under the skin of the batter. That’s one very important thing that he has, when he keeps. But as a batter, he is so dangerous that he can turn a game on its head. In fact, he’s played more match-winning innings in the last two or three years, than any of the top five Indian batters.

When it comes to the two people out there, I think what you’ll have to weigh is what the pitch is going to play like. If it’s going to turn, then I would look for the better keeper. That’s a decision the team management will have to make. Because the guys like Jadeja, Kuldeep, Ashwin, they will need a good keeper behind the stumps. Because that will get the confidence of the bowler going as well,” Shastri elaborated.

Pant was India’s highest run-getter in Tests in 2021. In seven matches, the 25-year-old scored 680 runs at an average and strike rate of 61.81 and 90.90, respectively.

Legendary Australia skipper Ian Chappell exclaimed that the visitors have one less problem to worry about.

“India are really going to miss Rishabh Pant. And I think where the Australians will be happy that he is not playing is, in his approach to the game. He is a counter-attacker. Speaking as a captain, the guy will keep you awake at night because he can score quickly, score big and can change a match in one session. And Rishabh Pant is that sort of a player. He is one player that the Australians don’t have to worry about and they will be delighted by that,” he said.

The next three Test matches will be played in Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5), and Ahmedabad (March 9-13). India need to win the series by a two-Test margin to set up a World Test Championship (WTC) final date with the Aussies in June at the Oval.