Stop This Chopping And Changing Of Bowlers!

Going by the second day’s play in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba in Brisbane, it can be said that India cannot be seen as a “contender” for the final of the ICC World Test Championship final to be played at the Lord’s in London in the first week of June 2025. After the 3-0 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand in the home series, only the most optimist would have expected a turnaround in fortunes in the five-Test series against Australia. India trounced Australia in the first Test in Perth, but after the return of Rohit Sharma it has been on the downhill, steamrolled in the pink-ball day-night Test in Adelaide. The discerning has the right to ask questions about the team composition for the second and third Tests, especially with Washington Sundar confined to cooling his heels in the dressing room. Sharma justified pacer Harshit Rana’s selection for the second Test, saying that he did nothing wrong in the test. Does the same rationale not apply to Sundar? Sharma fielded the very experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the second Test, but dumped him for the third Test in Brisbane and chose left-hand spinner Ravindra Jadeja. The chopping and changing did not stop with the spinners; India dropped Rana like a hot potato and replaced him with another pacer Akash Deep, whose confidence must have been dealt a blow by reducing him to a reserve in Perth and Adelaide. The Indian bowling, — barring Jasprit Bumrah — has looked listless, with left-hander Travis Head flaying the Indian bowlers at will. By taking another five-wicket haul in the first innings at the Gabba, Bumrah has further staked his claim for full-time captaincy.