Opinion: India should retain the same playing XI in the Kingston Test

After a minor hiccup in the first innings, India played to their potential and carved out a huge victory over the West Indies in the first Test. With the second Test set to begin in Kingston today, there is that usual speculation about the combination of the playing 11.

One major contentious spot apparently up for grabs is that of the wicket-keeper batsman. The young and hugely talented Rishabh Pant did not have a good time either behind the stumps or with the bat! He especially struggled to keep against Ravindra Jadeja.

There are some experts and former cricketers, including one of India’s best wicket keepers Syed Kirmani, who have openly criticized Pant’s glove work and have suggested the inclusion of the more experienced Wriddhiman Saha.

The second decision regarding a possible change in the eleven owes to the nature of the Kingston pitch, which is likely to offer more spin than the one at Antigua. So, there is some clamour to include Ravichandran Ashwin in the team for the second Test. Even in the first match, there had been some discontent by experts notably by Sunil Gavaskar, regarding the exclusion of the Tamil Nadu spinner.

However, there is enough merit in retaining the same eleven. There is no need to fix anything which ain’t broke in the first place. Pant may not have had the best of times at Antigua, but as he showed during the third T20 match, he is more than capable of handling the West Indian bowling. His batting record in the longest format is way better than his limited over records. As for his keeping, he is still young and will keep improving. It will be unfair to drop him after just one below-par test performance.

Regarding the inclusion of an extra spinner considering the expected spin-friendly pitch, there are a couple of things to be considered. Firstly, if one drops a seamer to include a spinner, that will adversely impact the balance of the Indian bowling attack. In case India has to bowl first and the first day pitch offers little help to spinners, then that can backfire.

Secondly, including another spinner at the expense of a batsman may not be a bad idea, considering both Jadeja and Ashwin are capable batsmen themselves. Of course, inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav instead of Ashwin will weaken India’s batting.

However, Captain Kohli’s insistence on having six proper batsmen apart from the wicket-keeper means, there is little chance of India going with five bowlers.

In such a scenario, instead of having just two seamers in the team, it is a safer option to have three world-class seamers, a proven spinner and in Hanuma Vihari, a part-timer who could be called upon should there be a need. The extra responsibility of shouldering India’s spin bowling department may actually bring the best in him as a bowler, just as it has done for some others in the past.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on India South Africa live score, India South Africa schedule, news, results, points table, most runs, most wickets and fantasy tips.