Galle, Aug 14: India captain Shubman Gill dropped enough hints that Prasidh Krishna will share the new ball with seasoned Mohammed Siraj in the first Test against Sri Lanka starting Saturday, even as he admitted that the choice between the Karnataka speedster and rookie Gurnoor Brar is a “tough call”.
While India will be going with three left-arm slow bowlers — two orthodox in Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar and a wrist spinner in Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj is the only certainty among the four Indian pacers on this tour.
While Auqib Nabi is not even in contention, the choice is between the 6-foot-5-inch tall Brar and an inch shorter Prasidh, who has already played seven Tests and taken 25 wickets.
“Gurnoor Brar is excellent with the old ball as he can extract bounce at a good pace. But Prasidh Krishna is bowling well of late as we have seen in the warm-up match. So it’s a tough call,” Gill said on eve of the opening Test.
For him, this series is an opportunity for the likes of Prasidh and Brar to raise their hands up in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who is out with a knee injury.
“Jasprit Bumrah is not here but it’s an opportunity for someone to step up. It’s all about understanding the pace of the game,” Gill added.
Southpaw Devdutt Padikkal is expected to start at No. 3 in the absence of another left-hander Sai Sudharsan while under-pressure Dhruv Jurel is expected to bat in the middle-order despite his poor returns in the last few Tests.
“Players are going to grow on their own. We need to give time to them, some players require a bit of time,” the skipper said, giving his take on the matter.
He also dismissed conjectures on an allegedly fractured communication between the team management and the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
“There is a constant communication with them. Unfortunately Sai Sudharsan did not improve as much as we liked as we can’t take risks in Tests. But we are confident of our 15 (players),” Gill said, putting up a brave front.
With one year as Test captain, Gill feels that he is growing into the role with every game and this series will be about fixing the wheels of World Test Championship juggernaut that had come off in recent months.
“I am comfortable in my role as captain now. Our goal is to stay in contention for a berth in World Test Championship final. We need to win six or seven Tests for that. So we want to make a beginning here,” the skipper said.
The first Test against Sri Lanka will be India’s landmark 600th game in traditional format after the country made its debut in 1932.
“Leading my country in the 600th Test is an honour and doing so on Independence Day is an even bigger honour,” he signed off. (PTI)
