Chennai: Indian cricketer Yashasvi Jaiswal bats during a training session ahead of the first Test cricket match against Bangladesh, at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar)
Sometime in the middle of India’s training session on Monday soon after Jasprit Burmah sent Yashasvi Jaiswal’s stump for a walk, Virat Kohli pulled over the opener for a chat. While waiting for his turn to bat, Kohli had a ringside view of Jaiswal’s struggle, where the left-hander was repeatedly beaten by the pacers on both edges of the bat. Kohli would show him how to shoulder arms, leave the balls perhaps on length. As the short conversation ended, Jaiswal would take guard but once again go through the same struggles.
As all of this was happening at the centre-square of the MA Chidambaram Stadium, head coach Gautam Gambhir would step in and take Jaiswal to the nets area. For the next 15-20 odd minutes, Jaiswal would face thrown downs with all his focus on getting behind the line of the ball. For a batsman who amassed 712 runs during the last Test series against England, Jaiswal looked every bit rusty here. Since that series, he featured in the IPL, where he struggled for consistency and had only one fifty and one hundred before warming the bench at the T20 World Cup.
And it wasn’t just Bumrah who was making him struggle. Fellow pacers Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj also tested him repeatedly and so did Yudhvir Singh, the net bowler from Jammu Kashmir. If Bumrah got one to sneak between his bat and pad to take the middle-stump for a walk, Akash too troubled the left-hander with a one that moved away. It was these repeated struggles that made Gambhir to step in and have a separate session at the nets.
Chennai: Indian cricketers Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jasprit Bumrah during a training session ahead of the first Test cricket match against Bangladesh, at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar)
As a new season begins for India on Thursday, a lot is riding on Jaiswal’s shoulders. Such has been his promising entry that the likes of Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon are already eagerly waiting for their battle against the 22-year-old, who is known to strike the ball hard. With 10 Tests lined up, Jaiswal is key to India’s prospects for he showed against England what he can do with his attacking brand of cricket. While Jaiswal hardly showed any signs of struggle against spinners on Monday, tonking them for powerful shots on the leg-side, it is his game against the pacers that would have had India worried.
With the tour of Australia being high on priority list, despite his rustiness India have no reason to not back Jaiswal, particularly when they have five Tests lined up at home before that.
Eyes on Gill, Rahul
More than Jaiswal, all the eyes will be firmly trained on Shubman Gill and KL Rahul. During their last Test series against England, an axe was hanging over Gill’s head with the No 3 even preparing himself for a domestic grind. However a timely second-innings century at Visakhapatnam gave him the rope and he responded with scores of 0, 91, 38, 52* and 110 in the next three Tests, to keep his spot.
But given the stability provided by his predecessor at No 3, there are still doubts whether Gill is the best candidate for the role. Apart from being susceptible to in-swingers, Gill’s game against the spinners, especially when he doesn’t trust is defence has made him tentative and look for big shots to release pressure. Against England, he managed to get away because of the inexperience of their spinners. But Bangladesh, New Zealand and Lyon would pose plenty of tough questions to him. It is one aspect even Gill admitted that he has been working on before the Duleep Trophy.
“I worked on my defence a little bit more, especially against the spinners. Playing on turning tracks, if you are not able to have that confidence in your defence [then it disturbs your game]. If you’re playing on a turning track, you should be able to defend a lot more. It is then you play scoring shots,” Gill had said.
And the same goes with Rahul, who is slotted to bat at No 5 or 6. Though he played only one Test against England before being injured, he scored a high-quality century in the seaming conditions at Centurion. With hundreds in England and Australia, Rahul has the game, but hasn’t yet cemented his Test spot. During the net sessions here in Chepauk over the last three days, Rahul has looked every bit assured in his defence and use of his feet. India would be hoping for the repeat of the same in the middle as it would calm a lot of their nerves before they leave for Australia.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 16-09-2024 at 19:15 IST
