Australia vs India 2018-19: 3 changes India need to make for the Boxing Day Test

#2. Play a front-line spinner

If fit, Ashwin (R) should slot straight into the eleven

India sprung a huge surprise when they decided to field all pace bowlers at Perth. Though the decision looked warranted after an initial look at the pitch, it became increasingly clear by the end of Day 1 that India had committed a mistake of historic proportions.

Ashwin was ruled out of the second Test and Jadeja seemed like the perfect replacement. Yet, the Indian think tank thought of giving Umesh Yadav a run.

The Vidarbha lad failed to impress and was especially poor in the second essay, conceding more than 4 runs per over.

A lot of India’s bowling plans revolve around creating pressure at one end and exploiting the batsmen’s impatience at the other end. However, while the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma created pressure, Yadav and Shami weren’t able to take advantage in the first innings.

Though the latter redeemed himself second time out, it was probably too late by then.

The MCG wicket would also be a drop-in pitch, and such pitches have shown a tendency to be slow. Thus, the Indian team needs to abandon its policy of playing all quicks and utilise their spin bowling resources.

The question of whether to play Ashwin or Jadeja is for the team management to answer. But whatever they decide, they definitely can’t make the error of not including either in Melbourne.