Binny, Jadeja or Ashwin? India's No.7 conundrum for Lord's Test

By Chetan Narula London: One of the greatest overseas triumphs for Indian cricket came in 2002 at Headingley. Sourav Ganguly deployed a five-pronged bowling attack comprising Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Sanjay Bangar. On a helpful bowling pitch under fine Yorkshire weather, they thumped England by an innings and 46 runs. Times have changed. And so have English pitches, as seen in the first Test at Trent Bridge. And the Indian bowling attack found the need to change again as well, opting for a fifth bowler in an overseas Test for the first time since Adelaide in 2007-08. In came Stuart Binny. [caption id=“attachment_1621155” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ashwin should be a shoe-in to make a comeback at Lord’s because he is the genuine all-round option compared to Binny and Jadeja. PTI[/caption] This need to play five bowlers in Nottingham first arose post 2011, following a dismal overseas record by the Indian team. The five bowler strategy has worked for India in home conditions because six batsmen are more than good enough. Overseas, however, the team needs the cushion of a seventh. And that is how they played in South Africa and New Zealand on their last two tours. But this led to a case of missed opportunities in Johannesburg and Auckland, where a four-bowler-attack simply failed to impress. “We have always talked about not having that genuine seaming all-rounder. Because of that we have to play with three fast bowlers and one spinner, and if the pitch is not turning then a lot of effort and work needs to be shared by the fast bowlers. If you look at those Test matches, the fast bowlers bowled their heart out,” said MS Dhoni ahead of the first Test in England. As long as anyone can remember, India have lamented this lack of a genuine medium-pacer who can also bat. Irfan Pathan’s career graph should have been soaring right about now. But thanks to injuries and some uncertain performances across formats, at age 29 when a cricketer should be in his international prime, he is sitting at home. Binny is the next best thing then, at least according to Dhoni. But the Indian skipper is clear that Binny is no Kallis, choosing to define him as ‘someone who can bowl a bit and bat as well, a good prospect for the next 6-8 months’. In his first Test outing, the Karnataka all-rounder did just that. The placid wicket limited Binny’s bowling use. It brought to mind Binny’s ODI debut in Hamilton earlier in the year. Already suffering a 3-0 loss in the five-match series, he was brought into the playing eleven for the fourth ODI versus New Zealand. His involvement in that game was limited to bowling just one over, and that again on a flat deck. He didn’t get to bat. Then when he wasted the first innings at Trent Bridge, there was a real danger of his debut Test going to waste as well, until he struck a maiden fifty in the second. In doing so he dug India out of a hole on the fifth day when England pushed for a late win. The question that needs to be asked here is this: what did India gain from playing this fifth bowler? If only the bowling aspect is considered, then Binny’s performance in the second ODI versus Bangladesh prior to this series is the definitive marker. At Dhaka, he took 6 wickets for 4 runs in less than five overs. Irrespective of the quality of batsmen and format, that spell showcased his use on a juicy pitch aided by some cloudy skies. India anticipated the same at Nottingham, but unfortunately they read the wicket wrong. In such a scenario then, the team composition effectively becomes seven batsmen and four bowlers. Does Binny outscore a full-time batsman in Rohit Sharma then? The answer is most vehemently no. Will Binny still play at Lord’s on account of his 78 runs and 10-odd overs? If the net practice session two days ahead of the second Test are any indication, yes. Simply put, Dhoni needs the cushion of an extra bowler overseas. If only to lower the work-load on his medium pacers who are his prime wicket-takers. Bowling out the opposition twice helps you win. It is the thumb rule of Test cricket. And contrary to his safety-first approach in the longer format, the Indian skipper is willing to take this risk. Dhoni uses his fourth and fifth bowlers to rest his seamers. With Binny hindered at Trent Bridge, this is what he achieved by bowling Ravindra Jadeja for 35 overs, although he also rendered useless on a listless pitch. What was surprising, however, was that Jadeja batted above Binny in both innings. And his fighting stay at the crease in the second innings notwithstanding, it is obvious that Jadeja currently doesn’t cut it as a Test batsman at number seven. This leaves Ashwin with two Test hundreds to his name. The ‘off-spinner’ was dropped from the eleven after a wicket-less Johannesburg Test in December. It was a rather harsh decision given that he bowled well in a holding role and a couple umpiring decisions went against him in the second innings. But for them, he might have been celebrated for winning that Test in South Africa. Instead he was sidelined for the ensuing Durban Test where Jadeja blossomed on a dry pitch and then went on to play the role of holding spinner in New Zealand, and now in the first Test in England. If the Johannesburg parameter is applied here, Ashwin should be a shoe-in to make a comeback at Lord’s. Not just because he is India’s best spinner but because out of the three, but he is the genuine all-round option. The only proper number seven available to Dhoni at the moment! At this juncture, the pitch takes centre-stage. On Tuesday, the wicket at Lord’s bore a distinctive green tinge. By time of the toss on Thursday, much of this cover is expected to disappear. With status quo in the series, India are still expected to go in with five bowlers, only that much is assured.