Drop Pujara, play five bowlers: Kohli's India should shake things up for Sydney Test

The series is lost. A captain has departed. A new, bolder center has emerged. With nothing to lose - except the Sydney Test – now is the time for India to experiment, and experiment radically, with their playing XI. The two established batsmen who have struggled on this tour are Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara. Arguably both should not play in Sydney. Pujara’s pedigree and reputation suggest dropping Dhawan is the obvious move but instead India should consider playing Dhawan at No.3 and dropping Pujara. [caption id=“attachment_2030545” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The two established batsmen who have struggled on this tour are Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara. AFP[/caption] Pujara has scored more runs than Dhawan – 201 vs 167 – but has eaten up 199 more deliveries to do it. While both have been getting out cheaply, Dhawan has kept the game moving while Pujara has slowed it down. If India want to win the Test, scoring quickly is a must. Dhawan gives them the better chance of doing that. Dropping him down a spot also protects him (in theory) from the new ball, which has been his undoing. An older ball that comes on to the bat could be right up Dhawan’s ally. That, of course, means KL Rahul will have to open alongside Murali Vijay with instructions to blunt the new ball and set the game up for Kohli and company in the middle order. Opener is Rahul’s natural position and he should be given a chance to prove himself where he is most comfortable. The other big question is the bowling combination. If Bhuvneshwar Kumar is fit, then India should play five bowlers. Kumar should slot in alongside Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. R Ashwin and Karn Sharma would then round out the attack. While Karn did not have a great debut in Adelaide, it is worth pointing out that Shane Warne took 1 for 150 on his debut. Karn has been in Australia for the entire tour and should have a better idea of how to bowl in these conditions than he did at the start of the tour. It would also be the attacking option. Akshar Patel is the other spinning option but he would be a defensive choice rather than an attacking one. He doesn’t turn the ball much, or flight it, and is more of a holding bowler. India already have one of those in Ashwin. The other option would be to play four fast bowlers and one spinner - Ashwin. That choice depends on the nature of the pitch. Admittedly, India lack the presence of MS Dhoni at No.6 but outside India, Dhoni has been unable to rescue the side or turn a match around for some time. Ashwin has better technique anyway and can bat at No. 6 with Wriddhiman Saha (first-class average of 46.87) and Bhuvneshwar to follow. It would be a long-ish tail but then India’s tail hasn’t been wagging in this series anyway and the team has been in every match. The difference has been a lack of wickets rather than a lack of runs. If Bhuvneshwar isn’t fit or India want to rest him for the ODI series, then the question becomes who bats at No. 6 with Rahul moving up to open? My pick would be Rohit Sharma. Before you scream bloody murder, Rohit has a history of making runs after being dropped. He also needs to be told in no uncertain terms that is his last-chance saloon. Either perform or be sent back to play Ranji Trophy. Rohit, like Dhawan, is capable of scoring quickly. If he comes off, then India will have the runs on the board to put pressure on the Australians and the time for four bowlers to take the necessary wickets. He also has the greater ability to handle the short ball than Suresh Raina. If some (or all) of these moves sound radical, that’s the point. India should shake things up as much as they can and see what happens and in Virat Kohli, have the captain with the ideal temperament to handle the changes. There is just one caveat. This is not an exercise in finding India’s best playing XI in all conditions. It is an XI that is geared to this squad and the Sydney Test. Once India returns to home soil to play Tests after the World Cup, everything obviously changes. Firstpost XI: KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Karn Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav.