Former opener Gautam Gambhir believes stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane must bat at No.4 in the absence of Virat Kohli and the Indian team should go in with a five-pronged bowling attack in Boxing Day Test.
In Kohli’s absence, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will lead the Indian cricket team in the Boxing Day Test and the next two matches which are scheduled in Brisbane and Sydney.
“See the first thing I would like to see from Rahane is for him to bat at 4. If a Gill, Rahul or Vihari is promoted ahead of him, it doesn’t send a strong signal and is slightly negative. Rahane should also push for five bowlers – with the kind of form Ravindra Jadeja is in, he can easily bat at No.4. You have Ashwin and three seamers as well, which will sort out a lot of things. If they have Smith and Labuschagne, then Wade, Head and Paine – so India should look to squeeze in five bowlers and two spinners,” Gautam Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo.
Gambhir said that adding Ravindra Jadeja as the fifth-bowling option will help the visitors to take control over the Australian batting, negating Umesh Yadav’s hot-and-cold form.
“It’s not always about putting 400 onboard but also reducing and squeezing the home batting. In the absence of Ishant Sharma, India should look at playing five bowlers with Umesh Yadav blowing hot and cold. If India can look to do that, it will give a good sign that India is here to win a Test series against Australia,11” Gambhir added.
