Manchester: The long-winding five-match Test series in England has hit the home stretch but despite securing a memorable draw at Old Trafford, India continue to search for the “perfect” XI, more specifically the right bowling combination, heading into the finale at The Oval in three days’ time.
India’s preference to bat till No. 8 at the expense of a specialist bowler has been constantly questioned over the course of the series and more so after Shardul Thakur, playing in place of the injured Nitish Reddy, was used for only 11 overs at Old Trafford.
But with India conceding more than 600 runs for the first time since 2014 at Old Trafford, the case for including an out and out wicket-taker like Kuldeep Yadav, who has been warming the bench for the past 40 days, is stronger than ever.
After an underwhelming debut, Anshul Kamboj is likely to make way for a fit-again Akash Deep or Prasidh Krishna.
Arshdeep Singh, who too has been a passenger like Kuldeep, has also recovered from a hand injury and would be dreaming of a Test debut in what has been a highly competitive and engaging series.
Though head coach Gautam Gambhir declared all the fast bowlers fit in his usual combative tone following the draw on Sunday, there is no denying that the pace pack, especially Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, are part of the tiring bunch on either side of the dressing room.
Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, the architects of a famous draw, formed India’s top six in the second innings due to Rishabh Pant’s injury and showed remarkable grit to bat out more than two sessions to save the game, completing fine hundreds in the process.
If that same template is followed at The Oval, Dhruv Jurel will come in to bat number seven and India can play four specialist bowlers by benching Shardul, who anyway has not been getting enough overs.
The fourth bowler can be Kuldeep with the pitch expected to aid spinners or an extra fast bowler.
“So Kuldeep, we are trying to find a way for him, but it is just (that we need) more consistent runs from our top six, so that we can bring a guy like Kuldeep in,” said India bowling coach Morne Morkel during the fourth Test. “Kuldeep is world-class”.