India defines its XI for the Adelaide Test: Shaw, Saha and Ashwin starters

India reveals its lineup for the Adelaide Test

Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, and Prithvi Shaw will represent India in the Adelaide Test. Umesh Yadav will be the third bowler. India’s main questions before the Test were: whether to continue backing the energetic Shaw, whether to play with a bowler and persist with the safer option of Ashwin, and which of the goalkeepers should play. On the eve of the day-night Test, they resolved all the confusion by naming the XI. Shaw was under pressure, Shubman Gill performed better in the two matches of the tour, impressing sports legends. However, Shaw was the opening batsman and proved in a four-inning stint in New Zealand that he can be destructive. He scored 0, 19, 40 and 3 in the two matches of the tour, but more than the scores, it was his loose shots that worried. It is understood, however, that with an established middle order, India also wanted continuity at the top and opted for the incumbent.

Similarly, the Test’s starting bowler, especially with Ravindra Jadeja absent due to injury, kept his place. The last time India chose not to play Ashwin in an opening match of a series was on the 2014-15 Australia tour, a decision that was criticized for using Karn Sharma, whose lack of experience was noticeable on a pitch where Australian bowler Nathan Lyon proved to be the game changer. As reasonable as it is to play Ashwin, on this occasion, it could have been argued not to play a spinner in the opening match of the series because in day-night Tests in Australia, spinners have averaged 49 despite Lyon’s superlative average of 25 in these matches. Lyon’s success is perhaps a sign that world-class spinners have the opportunity to correct these statistics based on a small sample of seven Tests. There is no doubt that Ashwin and Lyon have been the two leading spinners in Test cricket, followed only a little by Jadeja, during this decade.

In the case of the wicketkeeper, however, India dropped the incumbent Pant, who has been preferred to Saha in Tests outside Asia, where most of the wicketkeeping work is done standing up. It is in India where the team management believes that Saha’s superior wicketkeeping skills come into play when facing the bowlers. The team management seems to have decided that the pink ball does a lot and will require a more established wicketkeeper. And despite Pant’s century in the SCG warm-up, he had an ordinary tour of New Zealand, scoring 60 runs in four innings. He has not yet played for India in any international cricket since then.

Yadav was the favorite to be India’s third bowler, replacing the injured Ishant Sharma. Not only does he have test experience, this is his fourth tour of Australia, but he also impressed in the only warm-up match he played, taking 3 for 48 and 1 for 14 and also scoring useful runs.India XI: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (c), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah