We look at the five fringe players who can make India’s Test squad for the Australia series.
The five-match Test series between Australia and India down under will be one of the most thrilling contests of recent times, with the two best sides in the world going against each other. While Australia have lost the last four Border-Gavaskar series, they are still a formidable unit and are raring to go and get back the urn.
The challenge for India is equally high, for they are going through a transition and will have a few young faces in completely different conditions. However, they will be high on confidence after performing exceptionally well with a fairly inexperienced team in this part of the world last time.
We look at the five fringe players who can make India’s Test squad for the Australia series.
India have two set openers – Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal – for the Test team, but Sai Sudharsan can come in as a reserve opener. Sai has done well in the County Championship and has a compact technique to succeed in arduous conditions in red-ball cricket.
There are few better options than Sai as an opener at the top, and with recent First Class cricket experience, he will only get better from here on. He might be a wild card pick in India’s Test squad for the Australia tour.
Abhimanyu Easwaran might be the unluckiest cricketer, for he hasn’t played for India despite doing amazingly well in the domestic arena for long. He has 7006 runs at an average of 47.65, with the help of 29 fifties and 23 centuries, in First Class cricket, showing his consistency.
He has been on A tours numerous times and has vast experience in red-ball cricket after playing for so long. With India in search of a backup opener for the tour, Easwaran will definitely present a case for himself.
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Rajat Patidar is immensely talented and has all the skillsets to ace the Australian conditions, even though he doesn’t have experience playing here. While he specialises in countering spin adeptly, Patidar is not a bad player of pace, either.
He has 4063 runs at an average of 43.68, including 22 fifties and 12 centuries, showing Patidar’s capabilities to perform in red-ball cricket as well. A quality middle-order batter who can be backup for the first-choice players is needed for the tour, and few fit as perfectly as Patidar.
Sai Kishore labelled himself ready to play for India and can get a surprise call for the Australia tour. Kishore has been among the most consistent spinners in the domestic arena, with 166 wickets at 24.01 runs apiece in 39 FC matches, including ten five-wicket and a ten-wicket haul, and was the leading wicket-taker in the last Ranji Trophy.
He bowls from a high-arm release, which might help him get more bounce off Australian decks. The spinners get some help in Australia, which can tempt selectors to have an accurate bowler who can bowl immaculate lines and lengths.
Yash Dayal might look like an outlier in this list but can be in contention for the Australia tour for numerous reasons. The first and most important reason is that he is a left-arm pacer, and India don’t have any established left-armer in their Test unit.
He has 72 First Class wickets at 29.26 average and can move the new ball, making him a handy option. The other left-arm pacers haven’t played enough red-ball cricket to come in contention, making Dayal a solid pacer if they feel a need for a different angle.
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