The former left-handed middle order batter of Australia, Michael Hussey, has been stunned by the exclusion of both the veteran spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, from the playing XI for the opening Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth during the five-match series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. On the eve of the game, Ashwin was seen chatting to the groundmen regarding the track.
Michael Hussey reckoned that he thought that one of Ashwin and Jadeja would have made it to the side, but the visiting team has surprised him with the addition of the other Tamil Nadu spin all-rounder, Washington Sundar, who has enjoyed both the batting and bowling in the recent series at home against New Zealand.
Sundar picked up 13 wickets during the second red-ball clash against the Blackcaps in Pune and backed it up with another cracking performance with the ball in Mumbai during the final game of the series.
That’s the first time since the Adelaide Test in 2014, when the Indian team management, despite having the presence of both Ashwin and Jadeja in the squad, has decided to field a third spinner over these two veterans. On that occasion, the Virat Kohli-led side went with the leg-spinner Karn Sharma, who debuted in that clash.
India to miss batting contribution of Ashwin-Jadeja combination? Michael Hussey responds
The experience of playing down under in a red-ball game was expected to keep Ashwin ahead in the race, while the desire to strengthen their batting line-up could have pushed India to go with Jadeja in the side, but they took the third route at the end.
Michael Hussey remarked that the touring side could have used an experienced spinner in the spin bowling attack and looked to extract the bounce off the surface, just like Nathan Lyon has been doing to get the advantage in Perth.
“It is a bit of a surprise if I’m being honest. I thought one of them might play. You see how important Nathan Lyon is for Australia. Nathan Lyon has got the most wickets out of the Australian bowlers here in Perth, so he’s the key man for Australia, and what that does is allow the captain to rotate the fast bowlers around from the other end.” The former batter from Western Australia recommended during an interaction on Fox Cricket.
Both these two all-rounders have also bailed out the Indian side from the ominous positions with the bat on multiple occasions. During the opening Test of their home season in Chennai, they were struggling badly with five down inside, scoring 100 runs, before Jadeja and Ashwin put up a fine partnership between them, with the latter celebrating a century.
Michael Hussey advocated the potential contribution these two could have down with the blade. Jadeja has also enjoyed his time with the bat down under in the five-day format with the help of 175 runs in four games at an average of 43.75 and a strike rate of over 54 with the help of two half-centuries.
“The Indians have looked at the pitch, seen plenty of grass on it. Traditionally it’s very fast and bouncy here as well, so they thought maybe the spinner is not going to play as much of a role, and they’re going to go in a different direction. It is a surprise because Ashwin and Jadeja can help out with the bat as well.” Michael Hussey concluded.
The responsibility of the lower middle order will now be on Sundar and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, as they lost four wickets in the first session of the game.