As a convention more than a rule, the day before a Test match has become a day of optional training for India’s cricketers. As it is, they play so much and train so hard in the days leading up to a series that the three days between Tests are reserved for travel, recovery, a little bit of topping up and plenty of rest, especially for the bowling group.
It was no different at the MCA International Stadium on Wednesday, a day before the second Test against New Zealand. India had a full session, minus new father Sarfaraz Khan, on Tuesday afternoon; a few hours later, on Wednesday morning, less than a third of the 16-man squad went through its paces. Conspicuous among those who made the long trip from their hotel – nearly 30 kilometres away – was Virat Kohli, not necessarily in the best of international forms, as well as Sarfaraz and Shubman Gill, who missed the eight-wicket loss in the first Test with a stiff neck.
That Gill had made a complete recovery was obvious even on the final day in Bengaluru when, minutes after New Zealand sealed a historic, 36-year-drought-ending victory, he batted without discomfort on the surface used for the Test match. On Wednesday, he was at it again, facing the throwdown specialists in the team as well as the net bowlers provided by the local association.
Adjacent to Gill was Kohli, who has only two international half-centuries this calendar year, the second coming in the second innings in Bengaluru. Until he was dismissed for 70, he was authoritative and commanding at the crease. Kohli will have fond memories of this ground, having made an unbeaten 254 – his highest score – in the last Test here, an innings win against South Africa in October 2019. He will have to invoke the spirit of that Kohli as India seek to draw abreast after their extraordinary batting collapse in the first innings of the previous outing.
Apart from Gill, Kohli and Sarfaraz, Ravindra Jadeja and Dhruv Jurel, the reserve stumper, also had long batting sessions. Any speculation that Jurel might be on standby for Rishabh Pant, who was struck painfully while keeping in the Bengaluru Test on the inside of the same right knee that he badly damaged in his car accident of December 2022, was put to rest by Gautam Gambhir, the head coach confirming that Pant would play, and keep, in this game.
Not much should be read into the fact that alongside his captain Rohit Sharma and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul wasn’t present at the nets because that is generally his pre-Test routine. Rahul’s place is under threat not because he has been a serial underperformer but because Sarfaraz has made himself practically undroppable after his second-innings 150 in Bengaluru. Whichever way the nod goes, the one who misses out will have reason to feel hard done by – it must not be forgotten that Rahul has been supremely consistent since dropping down to No. 6 from the tour of South Africa last December.
Washington Sundar likely to play
Rahul vs Sarfaraz might be the raging debate but India have added a new dimension by calling up Washington Sundar, who is being looked at as an off-spinner and a more than capable lower order bat. Gambhir spoke at length about the ‘control’ Washington can bring while also taking the ball away from the left-handers, like his more senior Tamil Nadu colleague R Ashwin. Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s stock delivery is also the one that turns away from the left-hander, but by using the word ‘control’ more than once, Gambhir was perhaps throwing up a subtle hint that Washington might be primed for his first Test appearance since March 2021.
Washington is also coming off a big century for his state in the Ranji Trophy tie against Delhi last week, an added bonus for a side that bats deep with Ashwin, who boasts six Test tons, slotting in at No. 8. India will be mindful of their stunning collapse against the second new ball too in Bengaluru when they lost seven for 54; everything points towards Washington, given that the Kiwis have three left-handers in the top four and a fourth – left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner – might be drafted into the XI in place of most likely Tim Southee, their most experienced pacer, in deference to how they expect the surface to behave.
There was a fair bit of scrubbing of the bald, brown track on Tuesday, indicating that apart from spin, reverse-swing too could be a factor – Akash Deep for Mohammed Siraj can’t entirely be ruled out.
