FEATURES
Follow UsIndia
Chance for Nitish Reddy to make his BGT case
Five days ago, the BCCI announced an 18-man squad for the Tests against Australia, of which only two — Abhimanyu Easwaran & Nitish Reddy — will be a part of the unofficial four-day games against Australia ‘A’. Among the two, however, only one has a realistic chance of making it to the starting XI of the first Test in Perth and that’s Nitish Reddy.
ALSO READ: India BGT squad takeaways: Have we seen the last of Shardul Thakur in Tests?
For the longest time, India have yearned for a pace-bowling batting all-rounder in SENA Tests to balance the side but, over the years, that’s proven to be an unrealistic dream. But in 21-year-old Nitish, India finally have what they wanted and desired.
By having Nitish in the side, the team will have four seam-bowling options in the XI while having a batter that’s significantly better than any of the seamers in the squad. You want to drop Ravichandran Ashwin? Then this is the profile you want to be replacing him with.
Nitish’s profile, then, is perfect. But what India do not know is if he is actually ready for the highest level, especially with the bat in hand. Mind you, the right-hander averages just 21.45 in first-class cricket and has crossed the 50-run mark only thrice.
These two ‘A’ games should give a fair idea of how ready the 21-year-old is. In Scott Boland, Michael Neser, Todd Murphy and Fergus O’Neill, Australia ‘A’ have a ridiculously stacked bowling attack filled with both experience and firepower.
If Nitish can somehow find a way to make runs against this quality unit, don’t be surprised if he’s right in the mix to play in Perth.
Litmus test coming up for Abhimanyu Easwaran
He has four hundreds in his last six first-class innings. He’s scored 991 runs since February and is averaging close to 100 in this period. Abhimanyu Easwaran is, without question, the most in-form domestic batter in the country currently.
But even in first-class cricket, scoring runs outside Asia remains the gold standard and so a massive litmus test is coming up for Easwaran. If he carries on his ridiculous form, he will almost certainly end up playing at least one Test in the BGT, considering reports are claiming that Rohit Sharma is likely to miss a part of the series.
However, a lean series will undoubtedly damage his chances and will shed more light on the quality of bowling and pitches in domestic cricket back home.
It’s a very important two games for Easwaran. The 29-year-old, in his career, has played 11 first-class games across South Africa, England, New Zealand, and West Indies and has averaged 29.78. In the 19 innings he’s played in the said countries representing India ‘A’, the opener has managed just one hundred.
A failure here in Australia will unquestionably dent his chances going forward, simply due to middling returns outside Asia across a significant sample size.
Pecking order of reserve seamers set to be decided
From the main BGT squad, there might only be two individuals who are part of the India ‘A’ squad, but each of the three reserves named in the squads for the Australia Tests — Navdeep Saini, Mukesh Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed — will be featuring in the unofficial Test series.
These two games against Australia ‘A’ will likely decide who will be the first cab off the rank should one of the main seamers suffer an injury.
As mentioned above, the shootout will be between Saini, Mukesh and Khaleel but you can also throw Yash Dayal into the mix even though he’s not part of the reserves for the BGT. A strong showing will definitely make the management consider the possibility of adding the left-arm seamer to at least the reserves, if not the main squad.
One reckons Mukesh, at this point, must be at the top of the pecking order due to his seniority, but things can and will change very quickly depending on what unfolds across the two games.
Australia
Sam Konstas’ chance to put an end to the opening debate
So far, the stars have aligned perfectly for 19-year-old Sam Konstas and how.
Cameron Green first got injured, meaning there opened a vacancy at the top of the order in the Test side due to Steve Smith moving down. Then, around the same time, Konstas began the Shield season with twin centuries to bolt into the Australia ‘A’ squad and become a contender for the India Tests.
Not only that, his biggest contender, Cameron Bancroft, ended up beginning the season with scores of 0, 0, 8 & 2.
Kontas’ name has been all over the news in the past 15 days or so, and even Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has publicly claimed that the management and the selectors will not hesitate to pick a youngster if they feel that the individual in question is ready.
In two Shield games this season, Konstas already has three quality knocks under his belt, the third of which was a fighting 43 against a stacked Victorian attack which included Boland, Sutherland and O'Neill among others.
If he makes another solid impression in the India ‘A’ games, he will almost certainly be in the BGT squad. A ton will probably guarantee him opening in the first Test in Perth.
Konstas aside, it’s also worth keeping an eye on three other batters: Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Nathan McSweeney.
McSweeney is the most interesting individual of them all. The 25-year-old, who will be captaining Australia ‘A’, averages 47.86 in Shield since the start of last season. His last five Shield scores read 37, 72, 55, 127* & 117 and he is someone who bats at No.3. Strictly technically speaking, moving someone from No.3 to opening won’t be radical, so a big India ‘A’ series could also make the right-hander a prime contender for the Perth Test.
Potential BGT audition for Beau Webster
Another name who the Australian selectors will be keeping a close eye on in the unofficial Test series is none other than Tasmania’s Beau Webster.
Since the start of last season, Webster is the only batter apart from McSweeney to have scored over 1,000 Shield runs. He was the Player of the Shield last season, hammering 938 runs at an average of 58.63. What makes Webster a prime contender for the BGT is that, on top of these batting numbers, he’s taken 32 wickets during this period bowling medium pace, at an average of 30.8.
The all-rounder was recently in the headlines for picking up a sensational 6/17 in the one-day cup that helped Tasmania bowl out Western Australia for 53 in the game that saw a horror collapse from WA.
With Green ruled out of the tour and with the jury still out on Mitchell Marsh’s ability to deliver overs, Webster could very well get a call-up should he impress against India ‘A’.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here
