Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that both spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja could be in the same Playing XI during the five-match Test series in Australia.
Manjrekar also spoke about Kuldeep Yadav’s absence from India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Kuldeep is suffering from a chronic left groin problem and will go to the BCCI Center of Excellence after the ongoing Test series against New Zealand to get it cured.
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Sanjay Manjrekar talks about India’s spin bowling combination
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar believes that India’s superior fast bowling attack of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj has allowed them to field only one spinner in the team earlier.
But with Siraj not in top form and Shami ruled out of the series due to injury, India’s bowling attack looks inexperienced. Manjrekar feels that the Men in Blue can play with both spinners to bolster their bowling attack.
“Very rarely have (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja played together, either in South Africa or in Australia. So it hasn’t happened much in the past because India was very confident about the quality they had in their bowling attack. The three seamers,” said Sanjay Manjrekar.
“(Muhammad) Siraj was bowling great, (Jasprit) Bumrah, you know, (he was) the epitome of perfection and Mohammed Shami. So they could do with a spinner and a bit more depth.”
“Now that Siraj’s form is down a bit, Shami is not there, I think there will be a bit more focus on the spinners and they can play two spinners regardless of the pitch because there is more quality there than the seam,” he added.
Will Ashwin and Jadeja play in the 11 regardless of Australia’s pitch? 🤔#AUSWIND pic.twitter.com/6KeK0TIAHc
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 30, 2024
India’s pace attack for Australia Tests
India this time attacked with inexperienced pace and it was Jasprit Bumrah who was the most experienced. Mohammed Siraj made his Test debut during the recent tour of Australia.
Akash Deep has played a few Tests so far, while Prasidh Krishna has only played two Tests so far. Another fast bowler Harshit Rana is yet to make his Test debut. Rana has pace and with his height can create good bounce on Australian pitches.
Sanjay Manjrekar on Kuldeep Yadav’s unavailability
Sanjay Manjrekar then spoke about the absence of Kuldeep Yadav during the tour. The cricketer-turned-commentator feels that a wrist spinner with some skills would be vital on the Australian pitches.
However, he feels that India are used to playing without the left-arm wrist spinner and will not miss him too much. According to him, due to the presence of experienced spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep would find it difficult to make it into the Playing XI.
“When you play in Australia, you need a spinner with some skill in the air, some bounce. The wrist spinner has always done well in Australia. So Kuldeep Yadav will be a big miss,” Sanjay Manjrekar remarked.
“But given India’s reluctance to play Kuldeep Yadav, it’s not like one key batsman is missing or Bumrah is missing, you’ll think there’s a ‘huge failure’ here because Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t played regularly for India. It’s almost as if India is being used for his exceptional skills. though, to play without Kuldeep Yadav,” he said.
Kuldeep Yadav has played 1 Test in Australia so far. However, he impressed in the only innings he bowled in Australia. The left-arm wrist spinner finished with 5-99 in the only innings he played in Sydney during India’s tour of Australia in 2018-19.
India will play a five-match Test series in Australia on November 22 in Perth. The next four Tests of the series will be played in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
