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In the era of social media, expert opinions are shoveled, and Kohli will not be disturbed. For someone who has already led India in 35 Tests, and won 21 – including eight in foreign land – Kohli knows better than most strengths and weaknesses on his side.
The Indian captain is delighted that his team of 18 players has at least three high-end pacers at Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami, two world-clbad spinners at Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Chinese exhibitor Kuldeep Yadav, who brings an X factor to the table.
If the proposed test throws do indeed lack green, bend and variable bounce, Kohli will not hesitate to throw the ball to his two best spinners – Ashwin and Jadeja – who are dead when they hunt in pairs. The duo was virtually unplayable on the subcontinent's grounds and there is no reason not to be as effective if conditions in England reflect those of Canada.
It is not for nothing that Jadeja and Ashwin are ranked No. 3 and No. 5 in the world respectively. Kuldeep, on the other hand, has improved by leaps and bounds since bamboozling the Aussies on his debut at Dharamshala last year.
The leadership of the Indian team may be tempted to pitch Kuldeep into the mix, especially if the conditions are favorable, but playing three nets would hurt the balance of the attack as well as to the team. In addition, one of them is usually underplayed, even if a captain juggles with three spinners.
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Since India's last round in 2014 in India, they opted for a three-pronged attack in just nine home tests on Customized surfaces and Once in Galle, favorable to tournaments. Interestingly, Kohli & Co. had decimated England 4-0 at home in 2016, using three spinners in all five tests.
The exploits of England drummers against the balloon are well documented – as is the vulnerability of their Indian counterparts to bowling. Rather than worry about the pace or the spin, Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri will first have to get balance on the right side. The key to achieving this goal is to firm up the number of specialized drummers that they want in the XI game – five or six (excluding Wineskeeper's first choice Dinesh Karthik).
Playing five drummers and Karthik will allow Kohli to line up five bowlers and opt for a three-two-pencil or spinners combination – depending on terrain realities. Kohli is a great advocate of playing five specialized bowlers. In the 35 tries that he led, Kohli went with five bowlers in 23 games. Most importantly, with the exception of the Port of Spain Final Test in 2016, Kohli has always played five bowlers full time overseas.
If Kohli goes with two spinners, it's hard to see Kuldeep ahead of Ashwin and Jadeja. Despite his non-impressive record outside the subcontinent, Ashwin is undoubtedly the country's leading spinner, and Jadeja is not far behind. In addition, both are handy with the bat and the team will need his batting prowess in order to balance the equation. Kohli can use Kuldeep for his shock value during the series to maximize the effect.
However, given the fragile nature of the middle order, Kohli might well want the cushion of an extra drummer. India may then have to opt for a split attack, including two pacers and two spinners, or three pacers and a spinner. Having three riders on the field would certainly guarantee a place for Hardik Pandya, leaving Ishant, Umesh and Shami to compete for the remaining two places.
During the last tour of India in England, the skipper MS Dhoni had chosen Jadeja in front of Ashwin as the only driver of the first three tries, mainly because of the left-sided gunsmith's ability to smother the pbadage of one end. The brilliance of Jadeja on the ground can also work to his advantage.
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