India’s senior-most fast bowler Mohammed Shami is expected to make it to the playing XI for the fourth Test against Australia starting March 9 in Ahmedabad. Shami was rested from the third Test in Indore under workload management.
The Indian team management, in consultation with the medical staff, has come up with a workload management plan for fast bowlers who have played most of the IPL (Indian Premier League) matches and are involved in ODI World Cup plans. Shami played the first two Tests and is also a part of the ODI team. Umesh Yadav was included in his place in the team for the Indore Test.
Siraj has bowled just 24 overs in the first three Tests and is likely to feature in the playing XI for all the three ODIs to be played from March 17 to 22. In such a situation, he can be rested in the last Test to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera.
Shami has been the best fast bowler in this series so far. He has bowled 30 overs in two matches and has taken seven wickets. The team will need him more on the dry pitch of Motera. Such a pitch can be conducive to reverse swing. India are leading the four-Test series 2-1 and will have to win this match to qualify directly for the final of the World Test Championship.
The Holkar Stadium pitch in Indore was rated ‘poor’ by ICC (International Cricket Council) match referee Chris Broad but the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) would not like to take any such risk. A source in the state association said, “We have not received any instructions from the Indian team management (regarding the pitch) and our local ‘curators’ are preparing the normal pitch as we have done throughout the season.”
“In fact, in the last Ranji match here in January, Railways scored 500 plus (508) batting first and Gujarat scored 200 plus in both innings despite an innings defeat. Nothing will be different this time too.
With less than four days left for the start of the Test match, it is yet to be known how the pitch will fare when BCCI ‘curators’ Taposh Chatterjee and Ashish Bhowmick take charge here. “Obviously from last few days BCCI’s ground and pitch committee is giving instructions to the local curators but definitely our effort is to prepare a good Test match pitch,” he said.
The last time two Test matches were played in Ahmedabad during the Covid-19 epidemic. Both these matches were day-night and these matches were over within two days.
