The Indian team got a much needed preparation in the Lankan conditions ahead of their two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, the first of which starts on August 15 in Galle.
From batters to bowlers – the Indians enjoyed their valuable time on the field in the three-day warm-up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI which the visitors won by six wickets.
The Indian team have already been hit by injuries even before the Shubman Gill-led side took their flight to Colombo. While Washington Sundar was not available for the first Test against Sri Lanka, pacer Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the entire series. Sundar is currently doing rehab at the BCCI ‘s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for a sustaining a hamstring injury.
Going by the warm-up game, the Indian batters enjoyed a good run in the middle with Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, all getting some runs under their belts. Down the order, uncapped Manav Suthar also got some runs. With Sai Sudharsan also becoming the latest name to be ruled out, Padikkal is all set to bat at no.3 for India.
Known for its spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka, India are likely to field three spinners and two pacers in the first Test. Don’t be surprised if Suthar makes his Test debut in Galle. In the absence of Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj will be leading the fast-bowling attack.
But the real question is who will share the new ball with Siraj?
Prasidh Krishna or Gurnoor Brar?
For the Shubman and head coach Gautam Gambhir, they have three options at hand – Nabi, Gurnoor Brar and Prasidh Krishna. Having just bowled five overs in the warm-up game, Nabi is certainly out of the equation. It’s a tussle between Brar and Krishna.
Given the seniority and experience, Krishna deserves a chance. The Karnataka pacer has so far played seven Tests, taking 25 wickets. However, the real problem with Krishna, is his issue of leaking runs. In fact during the warm-up game, Krishna managed just one wicket in 16 overs, leaking close to 70 runs across innings.
On the other hand, Brar is just a Test old, having made his debut in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June. Brar comes up with raw pace and his ability to extract bounce and enjoyed a stellar success for India A, during their unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A.
While Brar did not play in the first unofficial Test in Galle, the Punjab pacer took 10 wickets in the second game, including a six-fer in the second innings. It must be noted that Nabi has taken five wickets in the first game.