Why India had no back-up opener in the squad for the third Test at Mohali

If there is one thing that has always been a concern for India it is the fitness of their fast bowlers. Even if India don’t have an illustrious history of great bowlers as West Indies and Australia do, fitness has been a key area of concern for India’s pacers, even throughout Virat Kohli’s short tenure as skipper.

Mohammed Shami has been India’s standout fast bowler of the year but the fast bowler almost missed out on the third Test and his stiff leg was the reason why the squad for the remainder of the Test series had five fast bowlers and no back-up opener.

India might have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series but almost had to deal with the possibility of playing without not just Wriddhiman Saha and KL Rahul, who were injured and in the squad, but also fast bowler Shami, who was dealing with a stiff leg.

According to a BCCI official, Shami had “some stiffness in his hamstring” and the reason behind having five seamers in the squad as opposed to a back-up opener was so Virat Kohli would have the option of playing an extra seamer in case it was a traditional Mohali wicket which offered something for the seamers.

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"In Kolkata [against New Zealand], we saw a good green top. We had the luxury of playing an extra seamer there and it really paid off as Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] took a crucial five-wicket haul. That's what we wanted to be ready for here as well,” the BCCI official added.

That is the reasoning behind having Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma in addition to Umesh Yadav and Shami despite the fact that India were only playing with two seamers hitherto in the series.

India’s opening struggles

The inclusion of Parthiv Patel in the squad, in place of the injured Wriddhiman Saha, which drew plenty of eyeballs, was also seen as a solution to the opening problem as Parthiv Patel was seen as a wicketkeeper who could open the innings if needed.

However, the injury to Saha, came after the squad was announced and if the Bengal keeper hadn’t injured himself, India would have had to play Cheteshwar Pujara as an opener and draft in Karun Nair in the middle-order for his Test debut.

With Saha not having recovered fully and KL Rahul’s fitness still to be determined, Parthiv Patel is still in the squad for the fourth Test in Mumbai, which begins on December 8 and according to the BCCI official, any call of bringing in another opener will depend on Rahul’s availability and Murali Vijay, who has been battling back spasms.

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