Press Trust of India
Mohali, Nov 3: With the PCA track likely to assist the slow ball bowlers against the formidable South Africans, the Indian cricket team management hinted at fielding three specialist spinners in the Test opener here.
After having drafted Ravindra Jadeja in the 16-member Test squad, the Indian spin force – Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra being the other two tweakers – certainly seems a tempting choice on a pitch which is expected to turn when the ball grows old.
India’s spin trio was certainly on the job, when Ashwin, Jadeja and Mishra were bowling in tandem during the nets as team director Ravi Shastri looked on.
Shastri had earlier hinted that South Africa will have to pay if they concentrate too much on Ashwin and forget about the other two spinners. “We are not a one-dimensional spin unit,” Shastri had stated. “We have good spinners to back up Ashwin.”
Pacers Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were also keenly watched by the coaching staff as they went through the paces.
Shastri though did not divulge the team combination and said: “It’s not about four- or five bowlers, it’s the balance that can get you 20 wickets. Like I have kept saying in the past, it depends on conditions.
“We will have to look at the track whether four is good enough or five. We always play to win. We will not be intimidated by their ranking.”
