Is Akshar Patel the right choice for the crucial Test?
© BCCI
India have relied heavily on their pace attack so far on the tour of Australia but former captain Anil Kumble feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni should review his bowling strategies ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Kumble, who retired with 619 Test wickets and is regarded as one of the greatest leggie to have played the game, said two spinners on a slow MCG pitch would be the ideal way to put pressure on the hosts, who lead the four-match series 2-0. (Kohli-Dhawan Spat Makes for Great Movie Script: Dhoni )
"As far as the MCG pitch is concerned, the last time I played there, the drop-in pitch was very slow. If it looks like that being again, the Indians must play two spinners," Kumble wrote in his column in the Times of India. (India Sweat Over Kumar Fitness )
India's spinners have failed to impress in the first two Tests at Adelaide and Brisbane. Debutant Karn Sharma (4/238) was ordinary in Adelaide and the experienced Ravichandran Ashwin gave away 128 runs for his two wickets at the Gabba. By contrast, Aussie off-spinner Nathan Lyon has taken 17 of the 40 Indian wickets to have fallen so far. Under the circumstances, in a must-win game for India, Dhoni may not be tempted to play two spinners. (Australia Don't Need to Sledge Whingeing India: Smith )
While Ashwin should retain his place at MCG, Dhoni's only other choice is rookie Akshar Patel, a left-arm spinner who had impressed in limited overs cricket at home. He is seen as a modern-day spinner, who can be trusted to stem the flow of runs and not necessarily be a wicket-taker. (Dressing Room Spat no Big Deal: Ganguly )
There has been a distinct shift in the nature and quality of spinners that India have opted for in recent times. The likes of flat, tight and line-to-line bowlers like Jadeja, Karn Sharma and Patel have prevailed over more classical types like Harbhajan Singh, Kumble or Pragyan Ojha. Kumble feels Patel's choice as a replacement for the injured Jadeja was incorrect.
"I must say I was taken by surprise when Akshar Patel was chosen ahead of the experienced (Pragyan) Ojha. Ashwin and Pragyan have worked well together against the Aussies in the past, so I wonder why that wasn't taken into account," Kumble wrote.
Ojha's continued absence becomes more perplexing given the fact that he finished with 10 wickets and a Man of the Match award in his last Test he played against the West Indies last year. The left-arm spinner from Hyderabad and Ashwin had combined well to collect 23 of the 40 wickets against the visitors in the two-match series, Sachin Tendulkar's last for India. (Burns Set to Make Debut at MCG )
It appears Ojha has gone off the selectors' radar ever since the International Cricket Council reportedly told the BCCI they were suspicious of his action. Ojha continues to play domestic cricket for Hyderabad.
Kumble suspects Patel may have been selected for the Test series given the key role he is expected to play at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Has the Gujarat cricketer been selected for the last two Tests to give him more time to get acclimatized to conditions Down Under? Kumble said if that was the case, then there was a problem with the selectors' mindset.
"I hope it's not a case of Akshar being looked at as a World Cup player and hence given the chance of an early acclimatization to the conditions. If the thought is that a second spinner will be played, then my take is that being two down in the series, it would have been better to include an experienced spinner such as Ojha," Kumble signed off.
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