When it almost seemed like India had their playing XI locked in, for the opening Test against South Africa after having released Nitish Kumar Reddy from the squad, but the hosts decided to throw a surprise on Friday (November 14) morning, leaving out Sai Sudharsan, who has been their No 3 in the recent past. India brought in a spinning all-rounder in place of Reddy and Rishabh Pant returned to the side in place of Sudharsan, while slotting a certain Washington Sundar at No 3.
Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav - Yes, India decided to play as many as four spinners as part of their playing XI, which is a rarity in Tests for the two-time finalists. The fact that this was the first time India were playing four spinners in a Test line-up in 13 years, was a good enough yardstick to interpret the decision. Three of those spinners bat, is probably why that call was taken in the first place and Dhruv Jurel became a must after those twin centuries in the second India A game.
So, do you know when did India last play four spinners in a Test XI? Well, that was back in 2012, in the final Test of the four-match series against England, which was a series decider, with England coming into the Nagpur clash being 2-1 ahead and the hosts decided to test England with spin and more spin, playing all four of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha, with Ishant Sharma being the sole pacer.
That match ended in a draw and India lost the series. However, since the emergence of Ashwin and Jadeja, India never played more than three spinners in the playing XI and now that they have players like Axar and Sundar, apart from the veteran left-hander, who can bat, India could afford to play all three of them, in addition to Kuldeep Yadav, who is a genuine wicket-taker, and is coming off taking 12 wickets in the West Indies series.
It was a surprise, especially since the message from the coaches and the team management has been about giving Sudharsan a longer run at No 3 to settle himself into the role. The scores of 87 and 39 in the second Test against the West Indies in Delhi, gave a good indication of what Sudharsan can do in the longest format, having coming off fantastic run in first-class cricket. Will India stick to same combination in Guwahati? That is a long way away but the combination for the Kolkata Test does suggest that India are still finding a No 3.
India's playing XI for 4th Test against England (December 13-17, 2012): Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma
India's playing XI for first Test against South Africa: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
