Published: Jan 02, 2019, 01:15 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 02, 2019, 01:15 PM (IST)
Former Australia batsman Dean Jones has advised the Indian team management to introduce chinaman Kuldeep Yadav into the line-up along with Ravindra Jadeja as the team’s two specialist spinner for the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday.
India are one win away from registering their first away series win in Australia.
Jadeja, who played in the MCG Test, picked up five wickets, while Kuldeep, who last played a Test against the West Indies in October last year in Hyderabad, pocketed four.
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“The Sydney pitch will be a bit drier and will turn. Australia will play Marnus Labuschagne in place of Mitchell Marsh. The question is, will India gamble with their line-up? I would consider playing Jadeja and Kuldeep,” Jones wrote in his column for the Times of India on Wednesday.
“Australia do not play left-arm orthodox well – Jadeja bowled beautifully in Melbourne – and they don’t play leg-spin well either, and that’s why they need to bring in Kuldeep Yadav.”
Jones reckons India should give some responsibility to young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, whose free-flowing batting in Test cricket has come under strong criticism.
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“It’s time also to give a little bit of responsibility to Pant at No. 6. Jadeja is batting well, too, and with him at No. 7, they’ve got enough batting. It’s unfortunate for Rohit Sharma but the final frontier is within India’s grasp. The closest India got to winning a series Down Under was in 1977-78 when Bishan Singh Bedi’s side lost 2-3,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Jones slammed the Australian batsmen for their impatient approach and asked the hosts to take a cue from Cheteshwar Pujara and captain Virat Kohli.
“What I also don’t get is why the Australian batsmen are not watching Pujara and Virat and how they go about constructing their innings. Their defence is outstanding, their patience amazing and yet the Australians are trying to score a run a ball or a boundary every time they go out to bat. They are in so much of a rush, it would seem they must like talking in the dressing room with their teammates!” he explained.
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The MCG pitch was rated ‘average’, a very similar rating to the Perth strip used for the second Test. Jones was critical of the pitches thrown up by the hosts.
“The MCG pitch was ranked as average by the ICC match referee. It was an awful, flat one. Why does Australia keep producing slow, turning pitches for India? Why they don’t make it hard, bouncy and fast, I do not know! Australia are giving Virat and Ravi Shastri exactly what they want,” he added.
