Chennai: India will use a red-soil pitch for the first Test against Bangladesh at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, starting on September 19, Thursday. The red-soil pitch is expected to offer more help for the fast bowlers and the team combination of both teams will heavily depend on the nature of the pitch.
The Men in Blue will return to Test action after over five months, taking the field as part of their home campaign in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. India’s last red-ball series was England earlier this year which they won comfortably 4-1. Following the Bangladesh Tests, India will face off New Zealand in the third and final series on home turf, before they embark on a tour of Australia in November for the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Ahead of the much-awaited series against Bangladesh, who are coming on the back of a historic 2-0 series sweep against Pakistan, India’s interesting strategy has come to light. The Indian players have assembled and started preparing for the Chennai Test.
All eyes were on Virat Kohli, who reached directly from London , and Jasprit Bumrah, who will make his first appearance since the T20 World Cup final in June. Head coach Gautam Gambhir was accompanied by new joinee, Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach.
The era of part-times returns under Gambhir
While the superstars took centrestage during the training sessions, Yashasvi Jaiwal caught the eye with his leg-spinners. The left-handed batter was caught by the cameras bowling delivering leg-breaks in the nets under the watchful eye of Gambhir.
The video clip has seemingly revealed what could be an interesting strategy of the Indian team management in the Chennai Test.
In the video, Jaiswal was seen bowling his leg-spinners to R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who could have a surprise bowling partner in Jaiswal.
Jaiswal has bowled just one over in his nine-match Test career, against England in Ranchi. He had also bowled an over in a T20I game last year against West Indies in Lauderhill.
India’s surprising strategy for Chennai Test
Jaiswal could become part of a trend under the coaching of Gambhir, who has already experimented with part-time bowlers in his short tenure. Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh started the trend in the Sri Lanka T20I series in July and now Jaiswal could be the next frontline batter to be used as a part-time bowler.
The red-soil pitch is likely to aid the pacers and with that in mind Ashwin and Jadeja are expected to be the specialist spinners for India. In this scenario, Jaiswal could emerge as a handy third option.
IND vs BAN: Ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh, who are coming on the back of a historic 2-0 series sweep against Pakistan, India’s surprising strategy has come to light. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
