India have backed Ravindra Jadeja as their default lone spinner in “SENA” countries. There is a possibility that they might think differently this time. But should they?
One would think Jadeja should start the England series for India at Headingley. Yet, reports (unconfirmed) and rumours (but little else) of India leaving him out have been doing the rounds of late.
Since their defeat in the 2021 World Test Championship final against New Zealand, India have almost always gone in with four fast bowlers and a lone spinner in their XI in “SENA” countries. And Jadeja, when fit, was that default spinner for quite some time, until the Perth Test of 2024/25.
The idea was simple. In conditions favourable to seam, India wanted to maximise their seam attack. Since almost none of the best Indian seamers can really be called an all-rounder, they picked Jadeja, the best of the batters. He was still a spinner, wheeling away as and when the situation demanded, but his batting was equally crucial.
Rumours or no rumours, is there a possibility of India abandoning that plan now?
One spinner or two?
This has been an unusually dry summer in England. “The pitches will be quite dry,” Graham Gooch has predicted. To add to that, Headingley is expected to bask in bright sunshine throughout the course of the Test match.
All that, combined with the fact that England has become a more batting friendly place in the Bazball era, probably hint at the conditions at Headingley may not assist seam to the extent expected in England.
While all that is true, the home team’s playing XI is often a good indication of how the Test match will pan out. England have included Shoaib Bashir as their lone spinner. Besides, even if India abandon the four-seamer approach, they may not do that right away.
Jadeja almost a certainty if India play two spinners
If the conditions are dry enough, India will play two spinners – something they can do, and England have chosen not to by including only one in the squad. If they indeed do that, Kuldeep should be the top pick as the main strike spinner. The other spot will be a toss-up between Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
There is little doubt over Jadeja’s place in the pantheon of the greatest all-rounders in the history of Test cricket. He is up there with the legends.
As the same time, he is 36 and has had his share of injuries. More importantly, 27 wickets in 12 Tests at 43.48 in England does not make for great reading. Outside of The Oval, traditionally the most spin-friendly of the English Test-venue pitches, these numbers read 16 wickets in 10 Tests at 51.88. This is very different from Jadeja in Australia (18 wickets in seven Tests at 29.05) or in South Africa (six wickets in two Tests at 25.67).
Even then, he should get the edge ahead of Sundar. India started the 2024/25 Australia tour with Sundar ahead of Jadeja and R Ashwin, largely based on Sundar’s show against New Zealand at home. However, he looked insipid in Australia. Besides, the stock balls of both Kuldeep and Sundar turn into the right-hander – and head coach Gautam Gambhir has come across a firm believer in match-ups.
It is worth reminding that Jadeja has proved his ability against left-handed batters in England. There were cries to leave him out for the Oval Test of 2021 in favour of Ashwin. “England has four left-handers, so a good match-up for Jadeja, with our seamers bowling over the wicket,” Kohli had explained at the toss. It seemed left-field at that point, but Jadeja did exactly that against the left-handers while taking 4-86 in the Test. England have two left-handers in their top six for the first Test of the series.
What if India play one spinner?
Jadeja will likely get the nod ahead of Kuldeep (and Sundar) if India want him as the all-rounder along with their four fast bowlers – in other words, stick to their “SENA” plan.
One reason India have backed Jadeja overseas is that his batting compensated for the three (or even four) tail-enders that followed. But what if they go in with three seamers and Kuldeep? With one spinner already in the XI, India can now go in with three out-and-out fast bowlers. They should be fine if their fifth bowler can chip in with a few overs, spin or seam.
In other words, they may drop Shardul Thakur and pick Nitish Kumar Reddy, who could bowl more overs than he did in Australia. It may affect the batting (at No.8, Shardul is a better bat than Kuldeep), but India can go in with four strike bowlers, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah to offset that.
This combination assumes that Reddy will be handier with the ball in England than in Australia, and combined with Kuldeep, he would add more value than Jadeja and Thakur. Sanjay Bangar, former Indian cricketer and batting coach, has suggested along these lines: "With Nitish Reddy as a batting all-rounder and a pace trio of Bumrah, Siraj, and Akash Deep, India can afford to play just one spinner — and that should be Kuldeep."
To sum up
If India play two spinners, Jadeja walks in. If India play only one spinner (their long-standing SENA plan), Jadeja should still play.
Jadeja will sit out only in the unlikely, very un-Indian scenario of the team going in with Kuldeep along with three other strike fast bowlers.
