While many believed that Washington Sundar was a certainty in the India playing XI for the IND vs AUS Adelaide Test, that might just not be the case. Skipper Rohit Sharma, after confirming that KL Rahul will open the batting, also hinted the major role veteran spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had to play in the series.
R Ashwin in Place of Washington Sundar?
Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the match, Rohit said, “It is always hard to leave players like Jadeja and Ashwin. But a decision was taken by the management, in the interest of the team. That is also something we will look to do throughout the series.”
“Ya, but I certainly see them playing a huge role in the rest of the series. What they bring to the table, cannot be written off. Whatever success Indian cricket has had in the past few years is largely because of these two guys. It is also important to realise that certain grounds here will bring a certain guys in the game a lot more,” he concluded.
IND vs AUS, 2nd Test
If that is not an indication enough, R Ashwin was seen having a lengthy 40-min chat with head coach Gautam Gambhir, which of course did not happen, prior to the Perth Test match. Now, the question that arises is, will Washington Sundar be dropped from the team, or will the management opt for two spinners in Ashwin and him.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.