Indian team management likely to go for sporting tracks

NEW DELHI: Fully aware of the current Indian batting line-up’s issues of tackling spinners on rank turners, the team management will do well to ask for sporting tracks against Australia in the upcoming four-match Test series, one which offers turn from third day, feels former selectors and experts.

Once known as master players of spin, the Indian teams in recent years have looked more at home against express pace and steep bounce while struggling against slow bowling.

The only noteworthy innings in the last two to three years on a rank turner would be current skipper Rohit Sharma’s technically perfect knock of 161 on a wretched Chepauk track where the other top order batters had struggled.

Even an attack comprising Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam made life difficult for India in the second away Test in Mirpur last December before Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer bailed it out.

“Playing spinners on flat deck isn’t the problem. We must admit that our batters have struggled against quality spin bowling on tracks that have offered turn. I don’t know what kind of tracks will be in the offing but rank turners could backfire,” former Test spinner and noted commentator

Murali Kartik said during an interaction.

Kartik explained that even at the domestic level, there aren’t too many players, who are actual masters against spinners.

“When I was in my teens and playing competitive league cricket in Chennai, as 15-16 year old, I was bowling to Vikram Rathour, S Sharath, Senthilnathan, some of the finest domestic batters of those times. Then I graduated to first-class cricket and I was bowling to Ajay Sharma and late Raman Lamba, two doyens of Ranji Trophy. By the time, I played international cricket, it gave me a lot of confidence,” said Kartik, one of the best left-arm spinners of his generation. Asked who among Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel should be the third spinner for India, Kartik said that it would all depend on the track.

“If it is flatter deck, then Kuldeep could be a good choice as he has the skills to take pitch out of equation. If it starts turning from second day onwards, Axar could come in. But if you ask me, invariably the third spinner will be under-bowled as you expect your two main guys to do the job,” Kartik said.