With less than 12 hours to go for the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati, India are set to make two changes to their playing XI for the fixture. With regular captain Shubman Gill ruled out due to neck spasm, one of the changes was on expected lines. However, the second change is likely to be a tactical move for the home side.
In Gill’s absence, who bats at no.4 is a million dollar question. Especially with the no.3 slot in itself being filled by an all-rounder in Washington Sundar. However, the Tamil Nadu man showed enough promise in Kolkata on an explosive surface to suggest that the move was justified. Will India take another punt with the no.4 slot as well?
Sai Sudharsan featured in both the Tests against West Indies but had to be sidelined with Rishabh Pant returning to the playing XI. Therefore, Sudharsan seems the logical replacement for Gill, at least in the playing XI even if not at the no.4 spot. But, if the southpaw is picked, India would have an overdose of left-handers in their line-up.
In Kolkata, Simon Harmer wrecked havoc on the Eden Gardens surface and a key factor in his favour was India’s flurry of left-handers. With Gill out, a crucial right-hander gets negated and Sudharsan’s inclusion would mean one more favourable match-up for South Africa’s specialist off-spinner.
That said, Sudharsan’s inclusion seems to be certain but Pant’s comments at the pre-match presser also indicated that India are aware of the left-hander overload and want to cut that down as well. That would mean one left-hander sits out amongst the bowlers and it is likely to be Axar Patel.
While the spinning all-rounder didn’t do too much wrong, India are likely to prefer Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja as their primary spinners. If Axar sits out, his replacement would be Nitish Kumar Reddy, an all-rounder for an all-rounder even though they do different things with the ball.
The pitch in Guwahati is also expected to be a touch quicker with even bounce on offer. However, the tracks in the recent Women’s ODI World Cup were hugely in favour of the spinners. That, though, is unlikely for the venue’s first-ever Test match, especially after how the rank-turner project misfired in Kolkata.
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