Which three Indian pacers will play the first Test against England? And will Kuldeep Yadav be the x-factor?

Indian Express

a day ago

Heading into the five-match Test series, it is no secret that India's bowling strength outweighs England who are heavily hampered by injuries and are thin on experience. But unlike the previous tour in 2021 where India's pace pack put up an intimidating show, there is a bit of cloud around the combination of the bowling unit ahead of the first Test at Leeds starting June 20.
Their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, given his back troubles, is not certain to play more than three Tests even if there are sufficient rest days in between. Mohammed Siraj, who famously bowled India to a thrilling win at Lord's in 2021, hasn't evolved as much as one would have hoped and is struggling to find rhythm off late with the red-ball which used to be his strength.
Beyond the two, there is Prasidh Krishna, a seamer India are pinning plenty of their hopes on, for his lateral movement and the extra-bounce he generates with his height are seen as valuable assets. And beyond the trio, expected to start the first Test at Headingley, is Akash Deep – a seamer in the mould of Shami, who if the typical English conditions happen to be on offer, could make the Duke ball move either ways. To offer the left-arm variety, there is Arshdeep Singh who could get a look-in at some point in the series if India find their pacers to be one dimensional. And beyond this frontline pace pack are two seam-bowling all-rounders in Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur to go with the spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar.
This is as rounded an attack India could have hoped, particularly at a time when their batting is going through a massive transition and need their bowlers to keep opposition's total under check.
Speaking after their third net day's practice session at Beckenham, India's fast bowling coach Morne Morkel said the first challenge is to get them in Test match shape. Since their tour of Australia ended in January first week, India haven't played any Test with Siraj and Prasidh being the lone ones to play one Ranji fixture in between.
'In terms of the pace attack, we cover all the bases. The key thing is to get Test match fit ready, get the sharpness back. We haven't played Test cricket for a while now and in England the conditions can suit you, it is overcast, but it can still be good wickets and we will be tested. In terms of balance we have got, really happy with that. But as a bowling group, finding that the gears we need to have in Test matches is important. We have spoken a lot about how to match up England and so far we are on the right way. It is about executing,' Morkel said.
In their last two tours to England, India have employed contrasting bowling combinations. In 2018, a series they lost 1-4 but by narrow margins, with Hardik Pandya in as seam-bowling all-rounder, they played three fast bowlers and one spinner in four Tests with R Ashwin and Jadeja being the preferred ones. At Lord's they played both Ashwin and Kuldeep – his only Test in England – as in bowling-friendly conditions, India chose to strengthen the batting depth. In 2021, India played four pacers and Jadeja with Bumrah and Siraj playing all as conditions favoured seamers.
But this time, going by the recent trends, it would be interesting to see how India go about their bowling combination. Since England adapted their Bazball approach, they have seldom played on seaming decks with good batting-friendly pitches being the ones rolled out in most venues. Unless the overcast conditions come into play, the movement from the surface has been minimal. Even in County cricket this season, runs have been the norm and it is the reason why for their ongoing practice session at Beckenham, India requested the curators to serve them good pitches rather than green tops.
Morkel said as much that India don't expect the Test pitches to offer too much movement or bounce. 'Very happy with the preparations so far. The wickets are doing a lot more. But it is common at this ground — Beckham is famous for its extra bounce and pace and we don't think we are gonna see that sort of movement and bounce in the series. But it is good for the guys to get used to the Duke ball, working on different skill sets that would be useful in the Test series,' he said.
Much would also depend on the overhead conditions in England as the first day of the WTC final has already shown. It was supposed to be a dry-ish batting-friendly track but with overcast conditions present the ball moved around for the pacers and Australia were bowled out for not much.
If India take their own winning blueprint with regards to how they humbled the Bazballers last year at home, they might be looking at playing two spinners, particularly Kuldeep whose wrist-spin could conjure magic against a batting line-up that prefers to go on the offence. And come first Test, Morkel emphasised the need to hit the strides straight away for if England's batting comes along, teams have found it hard to stop.
'With the type of cricket England play, we have to be on top of our games,' Morkel said. 'We can't really afford to find our feet in the series. That's the thing that has impressed me over the last two days here, where the guys have stepped up and taken ownership and responsibility, realising it is going to be a tough tour and that is pleasing to see as a coach.'