The composition of India’s pace attack for the five-Test tour of England has kept the national selection committee in a quandary ahead of their meeting in Mumbai
on Saturday.
The Ajit Agarkar-led panel, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir, has linked up on several occasions in the recent past to deliberate on the 16-man squad. While Shubman Gill is set to be named India’s 37th Test captain, the selectors are fretting over the fitness of Mohammed Shami.
Shami is unlikely to be on the flight to London since his fitness is under a cloud when it comes to bowling long spells in Tests. Sources told The Telegraph that the BCCI medical team has already assessed Shami and found him to be way behind the fitness levels required to perform in Tests.
The pacer hasn’t played a Test since the World Test Championship final against Australia in June 2023. He had surgery on his right Achilles tendon in February 2024 and missed nearly a year of international cricket. While he did play the Champions Trophy and was the joint second-highest wicket-taker, there is uncertainty over Shami being able to go through the rigours of Test matches.
Shami’s suspect fitness has prompted the selectors to look at Arshdeep Singh as a viable option for the England series. The selectors are contemplating including at least six pacers for the tour.
There is no worry over Jasprit Bumrah’s lower back injury, but his workload will be monitored closely and he is unlikely to feature in all five Tests. The team management doesn’t want a situation like Australia where Bumrah had to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility resulting in an injury in the final Test.
Besides Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur and Arshdeep are being considered for the tour. Akash Deep could be the dark horse. Two all-rounders from the trio of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja will make the squad. Kuldeep Yadav is expected to be the sole specialist spinner.
The batting options are few following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair are expected to be rewarded for their domestic performances. Both have been included in the A side which leaves in the next 48 hours.
However, it is understood that Sudharsan, who has formed a successful opening pair with Gill in the IPL, is unlikely to open in England. Gambhir has already indicated to the selectors in informal discussions that KL Rahul will partner Yashasvi Jaiswal. The coach wants a settled opening combination and does not favour a change after their success in Australia.
That means Sudharsan or Nair could be moved to the No.3 position with Gill dropping to the No.4 slot. Sarfaraz Khan could make the grade as a back-up option with Dhruv Jurel as reserve wicketkeeper.