AUS vs IND: Who should be India’s frontline spinner in Test series?

One of the major talking points from the Indian Test squad will be the selection of the lone spin bowler in India’s playing XI. India have three spinners in their squad for the Test series against Australia – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. The decision which the Indian management have to make will be between Ashwin and Jadeja who have been the team’s main spinners for close to a decade now in the longer format.

Along with their experience, the ‘Ravis’ also bring in an extra option of batting to the Indian line-up. Kohli might not have any selection headache in this aspect before he leaves the team as Jadeja got ruled out of the first Test in Adelaide due to hamstring injury which he suffered in the first T20I.

Kuldeep Yadav might not be considered unless the conditions are favourable to the slow bowlers like in Sydney which will be hosting the 3rd game of the series. Both Ashwin and Jadeja have been excellent at home and even in the sub-continent but have not been able to replicate that success while touring overseas especially in Australia.

Ravindra Jadeja has played only two Test matches on Australian soil where he has picked seven wickets but his average outside Asia reads only 36.39, well behind his career numbers. On the other hand, Ashwin has played in Australia thrice where he has played seven Tests and bagged 27 wickets but at an average of 48.07. Going by the numbers, India will be in favour of picking Jadeja if they are in need of only one specialist spinner in the playing XI.

Moreover, Jadeja’s batting has been quite good in recent times and also scored a fifty when he last toured Australia in 2018-19 season. The left-arm spinner has been doing well with the bat for India down the order in the limited-overs that too consistently. Hence, Jadeja could edge over Ashwin as India’s No.1 spinner through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

(Stats as on December 8, 2020)