Squad splits up — Ishan, Gaikwad and Siraj likely to feature in final two ODIs
Hamilton woke up to clear blue skies and shifting priorities began for the Indian team. Skipper Shubman Gill left for the Test camp in Wellington, with his longer-format deputy KL Rahul and seamer Anshul Kamboj in tow. That was around 10 am local time. About a couple of hours later, the squad for the final two ODIs boarded the team bus to Mount Maunganui. The fourth and fifth ODI are on Friday and Sunday respectively, and going by the weather forecast, the days are likely to be rain-free.
The two matches will allow Shreyas Iyer, India’s T20I skipper, to get a feel of ODI captaincy as well. The split squad for the ODI series and the regular captain, Gill, moving to red-ball preparations attest the importance of the upcoming two Tests, the first of which will be played in Wellington from November 19.
India’s preparations for the 2027 World Cup has begun in earnest with the ongoing ODI series. But the ICC event is still 11 months away. The Test series is the job at hand and failing to win it will effectively put paid to India’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final for another cycle.
“Look how much preparation time they (Test players) have had for this series,” said a BCCI functionary. “They have played three four-day matches, followed by a camp in the lead-up to the first Test. There’s no room for complaints.”
To put things in context, after the home series loss (2-0) to South Africa last year, both Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir called for a longer preparation time ahead of a Test series.
Like the squad, the coaching group has split up as well. Gambhir and spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule are staying put with the ODI squad, while batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and bowling coach Morne Morkel are joining the Test camp. Kotak spoke about it at the pre-match presser ahead of the Hamilton ODI, a game that ended up being a washout.
“Gautam will have to be here, the one-day World Cup is coming, so he will be staying here, and probably, Sairaj will stay here,” Kotak had said. “Me, Morne and some other staff will go to Wellington. This is the plan, but like I said, the final decision will be taken by Gautam, so it can change. We will just try and see that their (bowlers) loading, their fitness, their practice — they should do enough preparation, as much as the conditions permit us.”
India have quality replacements for Gill, Rahul and Siraj for the final two ODIs. Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been part of the 50-over set-up and should replace the two batsmen. Mohammed Siraj is expected to play for Anshul. Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav are part of the Test squad as well. But they are experienced enough to make a quick transition to the red-ball format. In fact, Siraj would like to have overs under his belt, notwithstanding a different format, to get into a nice rhythm ahead of the Test series.
Tilak Varma and Yash Thakur have been added to the ODI squad for the last two matches. But picking them over Ishan and Gaikwad deserve to play ahead of them.
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