West Indies vs India 2019: Why India should play five bowlers in the Antigua Test

There is a lot of discussion on what India’s final playing XI should be in the first Test against the West Indies that begins in Antigua today. Much of that discussion veers around whether to play Rohit Sharma or Hanuma Vihari as the sixth batsman.

Many experts have pitched in with their views in support of one or the other. Even captain Kohli has hinted at the difficulty in having to choose between the two. While one of them is a modern great in the limited-overs format, the other brings in solidity to the line-up with the added advantage of part-time spin, which could come in handy when a team plays with only four bowlers.

This strategy of going in with four bowlers might have worked in India’s first series triumph in Australia. But a team which is ranked number one in the world and plans to remain there, should do away with the safety first approach and remain aggressive in their attitude. Playing five proper bowlers gives a team enough opportunities to take the twenty opposition wickets, and increases the probability of a victory, by manifolds.

This Indian team is blessed with two world class spinners who are more than capable batsmen. Ravichandran Ashwin has Test centuries to his name, and Ravindra Jadeja’s heroics with the bat, especially in limited-over formats, suggest that both of them can be accommodated into the playing XI without weakening the batting line-up.

The Antigua pitch has, in recent times, seen variable bounce. This, according to some experts, necessitates the inclusion of a sixth batsman. But the counter point to that could be that such variable bounce will come in handy for the two spinners who are very different in their methods. Jadeja’s stump-to-stump nagging line would invariably lead to some unplayable deliveries, bringing both LBW and bowled into the picture.

So, contrary to the majoritarian view, there is enough merit in India playing five bowlers in the Antigua Test.

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