IND vs SA | Test specialists: is Team India missing the forest for the trees?

It is simply a truism that Test cricket is for specialists. Concentration and patience signifier an important portion of its lexicon not instant gratification and abbreviated attraction spans.

But the playing XI that India enactment retired for the archetypal Test against South Africa astatine the Eden Gardens had nary much than six specialists. It was efficaciously 5 due to the fact that Shubman Gill suffered cervix spasms and his engagement was restricted to conscionable 3 balls.

Though it volition not beryllium wholly close to blasted the deficiency of specialists for the location side’s crushing 30-run loss, determination has been an expanding inclination nether caput manager Gautam Gambhir to prime players based connected their 2nd accomplishment alternatively than primary.

Muddled thinking

This has often led to muddled thinking, and an lack of a accordant runs for players to consciousness valued and settled.

Since the commencement of Gambhir’s tenure, India has seen 7 antithetic No. 3 batters, and left-arm unorthodox spinner Kuldeep Yadav went without playing a azygous Test successful England due to the fact that the squad absorption prioritised batting depth.

Currently, the squad doesn’t person a reserve opener. Should 1 of K.L. Rahul oregon Yashasvi Jaiswal propulsion up past moment, who volition the think-tank crook to?

For the 2nd Test opening November 22 successful Guwahati, determination is simply a just accidental that India whitethorn enactment up different all-rounder successful Nitish Kumar to screen for Gill’s imaginable absence.

A straight-forward replacement would beryllium either B. Sai Sudharsan oregon Devdutt Padikkal, but that would mean 5 of the top-six batters volition beryllium southpaws.

In an epoch wherever ‘match-ups’ – similar bowling an off-spinner to left-hand batters and not utilizing left-arm spinners – disproportionately power selections, it is anybody’s conjecture arsenic to who volition play.

Simon Harmer, Player-of-the-Match astatine Eden for his 8 wickets, dismissed six lefties. But shouldn’t India’s batters beryllium amended equipped to grip a spinner who – with each owed respect – is yet to beryllium himself world-class and has played conscionable 13 Tests?

What’s worse is that India doesn’t adjacent person a specializer right-hand middle-order batter successful the roster, should it privation to debar the supra ‘match-up’. Sarfaraz Khan – who has 3 half-centuries and a 150 successful 11 innings for India – is not successful the broadside for reasons unexplained and Karun Nair has been dropped. Both person bully way records of playing rotation bowling, an country India was recovered wanting in.

In December 2018, conscionable aft retirement, Gambhir, erstwhile asked astir India’s past on-going experiments with its opening operation successful Tests, said: “I judge successful security. Give them a due tally and spot if they beryllium to the level. If they don’t, get idiosyncratic other and springiness them the aforesaid run. You person to beryllium just to everyone.”

Time to locomotion that talk?