On Monday, Jasprit Bumrah uprooted Yashasvi Jaiswal’s stump in the middle of the Indian training session. After seeing this, Virat Kohli called the left-handed batsman near him and taught him to bowl shoulder-to-shoulder. All this was happening in the center square of Chidambaram Stadium.
Then, head coach Gautam Gambhir called Jaiswal. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah faced throwdowns for 15-20 minutes, with his entire focus on staying behind the line of the ball. Jaiswal, who had scored 712 runs in the last test series, seemed completely weak here. He had participated in the IPL after this series and, while struggling, managed to score a half-century and a century before warming the bench in the T20 World Cup.
Along with Bumrah, fast bowlers Aakash Deep and Mohammed Siraj also tested Yashasvi Jaiswal repeatedly, with Jammu and Kashmir’s net bowler Yudhvir Singh contributing to the challenge. Due to Jaiswal’s continuous struggles, Gambhir stepped forward and arranged a separate session in the nets. A new season is set to start for India on Thursday, and Jaiswal has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. At just 22 years old, he is a talented player, with international opponents like Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon already eager to play against him.
Despite Jaiswal’s poor form, India has no reason not to support him. However, more eyes will be on Shubman Gill and KL Rahul than on Jaiswal. During their last test series against England, there was uncertainty about Gill’s position at No. 3, with even domestic cricket preparation on the cards. A timely second-innings century at Visakhapatnam, however, secured his place, and he responded with scores of 0, 91, 35, 52*, and 110 runs in the following three tests.
Despite the stability Gill’s position offers, there are still doubts about whether he is the best choice for the role. Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Lyon have all posed some tough questions for him. “I worked on my defense a little bit more, especially against the spinners. Playing on turning tracks, if you are not confident in your defense, it disturbs your game. If you are playing on a turning track, you should be able to defend a lot more, and that’s when you play scoring shots,” Gill had said.
The same applies to KL Rahul as well. Though he played only one test against England before getting injured, he scored a brilliant century in Centurion against fast bowlers in favorable conditions. Rahul has the talent to play but has yet to cement his place in the test team.
In the last three days, Rahul has looked completely confident in his defense and the use of his legs. India would be hoping for a repeat of the same in the middle, as it would calm a lot of their nerves before they leave for Australia.
