Gill and Siraj become first team regulars in their debut series?
The highly experienced Sharma you speak of was playing as an opener for the first time away from home in that series. Sundar last played a FC game in 2017 (seriously, what on earth does having experience in the IPL have to do with playing test cricket? Would Lynn be a good test pick if he suddenly rocked up tomorrow with a baggy green because he has BBL and IPL experience?)
Let’s work with some basic facts so that you don’t get lost in your delusions again. This was the closest to an Indian first choice XI based on the players that they picked regularly since 2019 up until that first test.
Rohit
Shaw (Mayank being next in line since there were concerns over Shaw’s mentality and technique)
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane
Pant/Saha
Jadeja (Vihari played when they wanted an extra batter instead which was too frequent under Kohli)
Ashwin
Ishant
Shami
Bumrah
Now let’s get on to your delusional takes.
Second test - Umesh isn’t a first choice player, he’s the backup as evidenced by him playing only once in 2018 in Perth when they misread the pitch and chose a pacer instead of a spinner (and a spinner ended up being man of the match). I don’t know how Siraj ends up being a first team player on his debut. But hey since I’m feeling generous, you can have Mayank as a first teamer and also include Pant there since he should have played instead of Saha in that first test anyways.
Missing:
Ishant, Kohli, Rohit, Shami. Oh and
Umesh injures his calf in his third over of the second innings and doesn’t play again in the series so let’s add him in here as he’s missing half a test.
Third test - Now Gill’s a first teamer after eighty runs overall in his first test? Siraj continues to be listed by you as a first teamer for some reason.
Missing:
Mayank, Kohli, Ishant, Shami. Among backups since you’re also into that stuff,
Umesh is out. Pant injures himself and doesn’t keep in the second innings but since he did come out to slog in our innings despite his injury and nearly won us this test I’m not including him here. But I will include
Jadeja, the guy you claimed to have ‘bolstered’ our squad for the later tests since he also gets injured, doesn’t bowl in the second innings and doesn’t bat either (so he effectively plays one and a half test in this series, so much for bolstering).
Vihari also tweaks his hamstring in the second innings and then faces over 120 deliveries without getting out whilst only managing to add twenty runs out of which sixteen were boundaries since he couldn’t run much.
Ashwin who was his partner in that blockathon was also injured but had to bat through because no one else was left who could bat after him.
Fourth test - So you don’t include Mayank as a first team player when he opens in the second test but do when he’s batting out of position?
Almost as if you’re trying to create a narrative. But hey I’ll still consider him a first teamer for your sake. I’ll include Pant too who you seem to have again missed.
Missing:
Ishant, Kohli, Shami, Jadeja, Ashwin, Bumrah. Among the backups
Vihari, Umesh are both out. Keeping with the nature of the series,
Saini suffers an injury in the first innings. Natarajan is utterly knackered because he was never a FC bowler and Saini bowls like a bowling machine out of battery in the few overs he is given in the second innings before being finally taken out of the attack.
So we’ve gone from four first team injuries to six by the last test. Two backups are injured by the last test. In terms of in-game injuries, we’ve had at least one player miss a significant part of one innings at least in each test. These aren’t just limited to said player’s impact being missed, this forces the team into making alternate tactical decisions on the fly that weren’t planned for such as Ashwin’s promotion for one. And finally since you’re into this stuff as well, five Indian players made their debuts in this series (one of them never having played a FC game again in his life). Since Thakur’s debut test was in 2018 and didn’t last even for two overs (didn’t play in a test after that) he’s practically the sixth debutant in there.
Should I make this equally juvenile by having my own product placement in this post?
