3 reasons why India picking Ravichandran Ashwin for 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test in Adelaide is the right move

India made three changes to their playing 11 for the second Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide. Skipper Rohit Sharma and No. 3 batter Shubman Gill returned from paternal leave and injury, respectively, while Ravichandran Ashwin came in for Washington Sundar as a tactical call.

We'll focus on the latter - it was another chapter in head coach Gautam Gambhir's book on the horses-for-courses policy. His leadership didn't mind calling up Sundar in the middle of a Test series against New Zealand and playing him in Perth and now has happily altered the winning combination for the senior offie.

Below, in three points, we analyze why it's an excellent call:

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#3 Pink-ball experience

The Adelaide Test is a day-night game, which will be played with the pink ball. This variety of the Kookaburra has a more pronounced seam than the red cherry and reacts differently to the pitch, often giving spinners more bounce.

Ashwin is India's most experienced spinner with the pink ball. He has played the joint-most day-night Tests for an Indian (five) alongside Virat Kohli and taken the highest number of wickets (day-night Tests) for the country - 18 at an average of 13.83.

Sundar, meanwhile, has played only once with the pink ball on the international level - against England in Ahmedabad in 2021 - where he bowled four deliveries and took one wicket. And as not much domestic cricket is played with the pink ball, India mostly have international experience when judging players.

The lone spinner plays a crucial role in these games. There are specific phases where the ball helps the pacers and the spinner usually needs to bowl between them, holding one end and switching between aggressive and defensive tactics depending on the situation. Few bowlers can play that role better than Ashwin, even in overseas Tests.

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#2 Adelaide record

Ashwin has not just been historically brilliant with the pink ball but also specifically at the Adelaide Oval. The spinner has 16 wickets in six innings here, the most for him at any Australian ground.

The last time India played a Test in Adelaide, the 2020 Border-Gavaskar Trophy game, Ashwin was one of the standout bowlers, taking four wickets for just 55 runs in the first innings. His victims included Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Travis Head - all of whom don't have an exemplary record against him even with the red ball.

Adelaide is not one of the bounciest tracks in the country. While Sundar was chosen for his over-spin abilities (which uses bounce to get wickets) in Perth, Ashwin can match that in Adelaide due to the pink ball's pronounced seam while bringing his extra variety of skills to challenge the hosts' middle order again.

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#1 Rohit and Gill's return allows for bowling aggression

Sundar's value in the Perth Test was not just based on his right-arm off-spin angle against a host of Aussie left-handers but also due to his batting skills. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder showed brilliant technique in domestic cricket and the New Zealand Tests so his selection added clear depth to a line-up that didn't have two first-choice batters in Rohit and Gill.

With their return and most of the batters coming off good returns in the second innings in Perth, going with Ashwin is a calculative aggressive approach. He's no mug with the bat and would still take the number eight spot here, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana (who can also bat well) on either side.

Pink ball Tests often end as batting lotteries where luck plays a major role because the modern-day batters' techniques fall short of the requirements. Stacking the bowling attack by picking the best spinner available in the team and trusting his wicket-taking ability to put maximum pressure on the opposition is the right strategy.