If one were thinking that selecting India’s XI for the second Test in Perth after the 31-run in Adelaide was going to be a straightforward affair, injury updates and the first look of the pitch has thrown the door wide open on Thursday.
The pitch at the new Perth Stadium, set to host its first Test match, bore a very green look on the day before the match, with the curator promising the bounciest pitch possible.
And then dropped the Indian team news. A 13-member squad was announced and there was no place for R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma in it — both ruled out due to injuries.
So if Virat Kohli wanted to stick with a winning combination, his hands are now forced to make changes — minimum two, as things stand.
With both Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja making the shortlist, it’s an indication that India are considering a five-bowler strategy in the match and giving them all the options to make any last minute changes based on how the pitch changes in the next 20-odd hours.
So, if you are the Indian captain, what’s your selection going to be? Could we see a return to the all-pace strategy that we saw in Johannesburg on a similar-looking wicket?
Let us know below and we’ll post the results once we know the XI Kohli selects at the toss on Friday.