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India’s decision to leave their premier spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja out of the playing eleven for the Perth Test invited sharp criticism from former India captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar.
FOLLOW LIVE: 1st Test, Day 1
India awarded Test debuts to two players — fast bowler Harshit Rana and seam-up all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy — and opted to bat first on a bouncy track after the stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss at the Optus Stadium on Friday.
The only spinner in India’s playing XI for the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) opener in Perth is off-spinner Washington Sundar.
“Really surprised with Ashwin and Jadeja not playing; they have got 900 wickets between them in Test matches,” Gavaskar reacted to India’s decision while analysing it on live commentary. “They are not bowlers who can just play in Indian or sub-continent conditions. They are very clever bowlers, they are very experienced bowlers. Even if they might not get you wickets, they will be able to slow the scoring down because of the cleverness of how they bowl.”
It’s the first time since the famous Gabba Test in January 2021 that India have fielded a playing eleven in a Test without either offs-spinner Ashwin or left-armer Jadeja part of it.
Questioning the readiness of all-rounder Reddy for Test cricket, Gavaskar said it’s the “new thinking” of a “new management” under head coach Gautam Gambhir, who took over the role after Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended following the T20 World Cup this year in June.
Nitish Reddy: Can he be the all-rounder India are looking for?
“…On these Australian wickets, there are big boundaries, I thought you would have gone with both of them. But this is a new management, new thinking. They have gone with Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is a promising cricketer, make no mistake about that. But is he ready for Test cricket?” he added.
“He (Reddy) has not played many first-class games and so clearly, I think, this selection of Nitish is more in hope, nothing less. Like all Indian cricket followers, I hope it comes off,” Gavaskar concluded.
Meanwhile, India got off to a struggling start after opting to bat first, as the visitors were reduced to 51 for 4 at lunch on the opening day.
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