India are yet to name their playing XI for the second and final Test against Bangladesh starting here on Friday and assistant coach Abhishek Nair said the squad will be selected after studying the pitch and conditions on the morning of the match.
The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association has prepared two pitches for this match. Indian captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir inspected both the pitches on the eve of the match.
Rain has also been predicted on the first day of the match. India played with two spinners and three fast bowlers in the last Test match in Chennai. If India plays with three spinners here, then either Akshar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav will get a place in the playing eleven.
Nair said in a press conference on Thursday, “Honestly, I don't know on which pitch the match will be played. Both the pitches look good. Kanpur is known for preparing good pitches. Right now I don't know whether it will give bounce or not.”
He said, “It is going to be interesting considering the conditions and the forecast of rain. We have to look at the conditions in the morning. A lot depends on this because in Test cricket, the conditions and the nature of the pitch matter a lot.”
KL Rahul has been in the team for a long time but he has not been able to cement his place in the Test team yet. He has scored 2901 runs in 51 Test matches so far at an average of 34.12.
Nair said, “I think Rahul understands his game very well. He played important innings in South Africa. We are confident that he will perform well. The kind of combination Gautam and I want, hopefully we will be able to get a good performance from Rahul as well.”
The Indian team's fielding has been excellent and Nair said that they have not done anything special but the awareness towards fitness has changed the game.
He said, “We have not implemented much. When Virat Kohli took over the command of the team, emphasis was laid on fitness which had a direct impact on fielding. If you look at the entire cricket of India, even in IPL and domestic cricket, you will find that fielding has improved a lot.
India has not appointed any player as vice-captain and Nair said there is no need for it. He said, “There are many captains in this team. Our young players have the same thinking as the senior players and when there are players like Virat and Rohit in the dressing room, then the learning process also gets faster.”
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