“I think if they can go for three quickies and two spinners, that would be the right combination for Sydney”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
With the fourth Test set to begin in three days’ time, former Australia captain Ian Chappell believes that India should consider using “three quickies and two spinners”.
Chappell’s comments come after India have opted for a four-man bowling attack in the first three Tests.
“I probably favour a 3-0 result,” Chappell told ESPNcricinfo. “I think what India have got to do, I don’t know if they’ve got the players to do it, but I think they could go with an attack of three quickies and two spinners.
“I don’t know much about Patel who has come out to replace Jadeja, but I think if they can go for three quickies and two spinners, that would be the right combination for Sydney.
“If they think Patel’s got some potential, maybe that’s the time to get him in because I think they haven’t got anyone unlike Australia who have had Mitchell Marsh and you’ve got Shane Watson, who can give you eight, 10, 12 overs in a game. If Mitchell Marsh is there with Shane Watson, you can get more. India don’t have anyone that can do that. They’ve got a couple of part-timers, but nothing serious. I think they’ve probably got to come up with the combination of five bowlers and the combination has got to be three quicks, two spinners.”
Chappell also feels that some of the strategies being used by India are doing more harm than good when it comes to bowling a consistent line and length.
“I think they have a chance (to take 20 wickets) but they’re not given the proper chance. I’m not sure of the consistency and the ability to consistently bowl good balls,” he said. “But some of the things they’re being asked to do don’t allow them to be consistent. When you’re being asked to bang the thing into the track regularly, and suddenly you’ve got to bowl good line and length, that’s not an easy thing to do. You know, a guy like Glenn McGrath, who was known for his accuracy, found that a very difficult thing to do. For inexperienced bowlers, it’s almost impossible.
“If India look back on the first three Test matches, they’ve made 400 in the first innings in each match. Now if you do that, particularly when touring Australia, it’s not an easy thing to do. And you haven’t won a Test match, then you start to think, well, the bowlers are not really doing their job, but certainly they’ve batted well enough at times. Obviously, there have been late collapses. But they’ve batted well at times enough to at least get one win in the series but they have nothing to show for it.”