Lucknow Press
Head coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday said there is no doubt that Jasprit Bumrah will lead India in the first Test in Perth as vice-captain if regular skipper Rohit Sharma is not available for the match due to personal reasons. Former India opener Gambhir hinted that Lokesh Rahul could be asked to open the innings if Rohit does not play.
The second team of the Indian team will leave for Perth on Monday but Rohit will stay in India. There is uncertainty whether Rohit will play in the first match of the series or not. Gambhir said, “Look, there is no confirmation at the moment but we will tell you what the situation will be. Hopefully he will be available but whatever you want to know you will know before the series starts.”
He said, “Bumrah is the vice-captain so obviously he will lead the team. If Rohit is not available, he will captain in Perth. ” Rohit’s possible absence will leave a spot vacant at the top of the batting order and Gambhir said that one of Abhimanyu Easwaran and Rahul, who are waiting for their debut, will be selected. Both of them played unofficial Tests for India A against Australia A.
Gambhir said, “Of course there is Easwaran, KL is there (in Australia). If Rohit is not available then we will decide when we get closer to the first Test match.” He said, “There are options there. It is not that there is no option. There are a lot of options at that place. As soon as the first Test match comes closer, we will try to play the best XI that can work for us.”
However, he gave enough indications that Rahul’s experience may outweigh the current form of new player Easwaran. Gambhir said, “Yes, because sometimes you also go with experienced players. I think and this is the quality of a person that he (Rahul) can bat in the top order. He can bat at number three and he can also bat at number six.
The former left-handed batsman said, “So you need a lot of talent to do this kind of work and he has also done wicketkeeping in the ODI format. So imagine how many countries have players like Rahul who can open the batting and can also bat at number six? He said, “So I think if needed, he (Rahul) can do this job for us, especially if Rohit is not available for the first Test match.
Gambhir backed debutant all-rounder Nitish Reddy, who has a batting average of 21 in first-class cricket and has been preferred over veteran pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur, to do well in the upcoming series.
Gambhir indicated that the doors are closed for Shardul at the moment. He said, “It is also about moving forward and I think this is the best group of players that we have chosen to work for the country. Shardul was one of the heroes of India’s victory at Gabba. Apart from taking some wickets, he scored half-centuries and has been India’s fast bowling all-rounder in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia).
Gambhir backed the Andhra player, saying, “We have picked the best team that can work for us. Nitish Reddy, we all know how incredibly talented he is and if given a chance he will do well for us.”
Harshit Rana is not part of the India A squad for the unofficial ‘Test’ in Australia and Gambhir said the management felt it was not necessary to put more workload on him as he had played a first-class match. “He played a first-class match against Assam (took five wickets and scored a half-century) and he did quite well. We all thought there was no need to send him to play another first-class match as he has enough bowling experience,” Gambhir said.
There is a lot of pressure on Jasprit Bumrah to shoulder the fast bowling load in the absence of Mohammed Shami but Gambhir feels that the attack is strong even with three inexperienced fast bowlers like Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep. He said, “We have quality. We have tall players like Prasidh and Harshit who can slam the ball on the pitch. All five players have different skills. This makes our fast bowling attack very potent.
Gambhir will travel with the second group of the Indian team on Monday and said that it will be important for the team to adapt to the conditions of Australia in the next 10 days. He said, “We have a lot of experienced players who have been to Australia many times. Their experience will also be useful for the young players. These 10 days are going to be very important but on the morning of the 22nd we should be fully prepared and start with a bang from the first ball itself.
