Image Credit- BCCI
Against a series when the second-most economical
bowler in India has given runs at a rate of 3.91, he has taken 17 wickets at an
extraordinary average of 13.64. It’s reasonable to argue that Jasprit Bumrah
has been the most significant player for either team thus far, and the main
factor behind India’s 2-1 lead heading into the fourth Test in Ranchi. But
since he won’t be participating in this match, India will have a difficult
selection dilemma. Do they swap him out with a quick bowler, like for like? Do
they choose a spinner in its place? These are the queries that will be on their
minds before the game.
What’s the pitch like?
The pitch at the JSCA Stadium seemed broken and dry
two days before the Test match. Ollie Pope, an England batsman, called the
pitch “platey” and pointed out that, if split lengthwise, one half of
the pitch had a lot more cracks than the other.
“At the minute, it looks like batting from the far end, [the cracks are]
outside the right-hander’s off stump and then from this end, the left-hander’s
off-stump. At the minute, it just looks like it’s down the wicket, it’s kind of
plated on one side and then the other side looks like a pretty good
wicket.”
Ranchi has already created Test pitches that appeared
misleading. On the eve of the match, the one for its first Test, held during
the India-Australia series in 2016–17, had a dark, nearly blackish appearance,
although this was because the black dirt had been watered. Australia managed to
salvage a high-scoring Test on the final day despite the pitch turning out to
be the slowest and flattest of the entire series.
At least for India, the other Test played here during South Africa’s 2019–20
visit yielded a lot of first-inning runs as well. They were bowled out for 162
and 133 after they had batted first and declared on 497 for 9. Umesh Yadav and
Mohammed Shami, two of the team’s fast bowlers, shared 10 wickets between them.
The look of the pitch for this India-England game,
though, suggests the spinners could come into the picture a lot more – and a
lot earlier – than they did in those two Tests.
So play a spinner then?
It appears that England is thinking of going back to
their bowling configuration from the first two Test matches, in which they used
four spinners, including Joe Root, and one fast bowler. India might follow suit
and choose Axar Patel, who participated in the first two Tests but skipped the
third, to take Bumrah’s spot.
This has two points of appeal. On a track that turns early, Axar’s quick,
stump-to-stump left-arm spin may be very helpful, and his presence would
further extend India’s batting innings.
But even on a turning track, there’s a potential that
four spinners might prove to be one too many. Playing four fast bowlers on a
seaming surface makes perfect sense because these players often perform best in
short bursts and benefit from continuous rest and rotation. However, over
extended periods of time, spinners truly shine. Axar participated in all four
Test matches of India’s home series against Australia in the previous year, but
he bowled a lot less overs than R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. As a result, he
was essentially a batting all-rounder who batted at No. 8 or 9.
Given all this, four spinners could be overkill in Ranchi, especially if
there’s sharp and early turn available.
What about an extra seamer?
With three elite spinners, it appears likely that
India will continue to use the two-seamer formula in an attempt to account for
all possible scenarios. Thus far in the series, reverse-swing has been crucial,
as Mohammed Siraj and Bumrah have demonstrated their ability to penetrate with
the old ball. Even if there hasn’t been much of it in the series thus far,
there’s a chance for a little new-ball swing. The weather in Ranchi is
predicted to be the coolest of the first four Tests, with highs only likely to
reach 25 or 26 degrees Celsius. Sunday and Monday are predicted to bring clouds
and a slight chance of rain.
So who is Siraj’s seam attack partner? The two players
in India’s squad are Akash Deep, who has not yet made his Test debut, and
Mukesh Kumar, who played in Visakhapatnam and has three Test caps.
After both Mukesh and Akash bowled lengthy stretches in the nets on Wednesday,
it appears that Mukesh would likely replace Bumrah in the starting XI unless
India feels that they need Akash’s added pace.