World Test Championship: India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate on Thursday said pacer Mohammed Siraj looked “absolutely fine” in training ahead of the side preparing for the one-off Test against Afghanistan starting on Saturday.
India have just a five-day turnaround from the end of IPL 2026 to play just their second Test match against Afghanistan, which is not a part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The hosts also need to decide on the bowling combination, as spinners Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar tussle for a spot in the absence of a rested Ravindra Jadeja.
“Siraj bowled yesterday, he looked absolutely fine. It’s been great having some fresh faces around. Look, I think the chance of both of them playing in the test are probably pretty small. We haven’t finalised the combination but I would imagine Kuldeep will play, Washi will play and then one of those two will play.
“Also, you’ve got seven guys in the squad from GT who played an uphill final five days ago. So, it’s just been good having fresh faces and our main job now is to freshen the guys up and get them ready for a Test match starting in a couple of days,” said ten Doeschate in a press conference.
On wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s role in the leadership group after being let go of as the vice-captain, ten Doeschate said, “I don’t think you need a formal title to be a leader in a lead set-up like this. I think Rishabh understands that and I think he’s committed to being a good role model and a senior player.
“I actually heard him and Gauti (head coach Gautam Gambhir) having a chat around that yesterday – how you want to conduct yourself as a senior player extends to your communication but also how you’re going to play. With Rishabh’s brilliance, we don’t want to take away all the stuff that he does.
“Occasionally, if he can adjust his game to play the situation slightly more, I think that’s something you’ll see him work on. But he’s been in great spirits again. He’s always one of those guys who’s happy and cheerful and drives the spirit in the team.
“You’ve got no complaints from him. You wouldn’t even notice that his role in the leadership structure has changed. So, no concerns about Rishabh and I can’t wait to see him back again.”
He also touched upon the unsettled number three batting slot, which has subject to experimentations ever since Cheteshwar Pujara was phased out. “There’s been a lot of changes in that spot and that’s not ideal. I think you need to look at the incumbents for that role and maybe stick with someone. It’s a difficult and very important position to bat. Dev (Devdutt Padikkal) comes in with a ton of runs in domestic cricket across all the formats.
“Obviously, Sai (Sudharsan) had a nice IPL with Gujarat. So they’re both in good form. I think whoever plays, they’ll be given a bit of rope. It’s quite difficult with one Test match now and then we don’t play a Test match for another two months and then you play two Test matches and then you don’t play for a while. So we need to factor that in.
“But I think the main point around there is we want to make a decision and then trust that person to grow into the role and ideally quickly because where we find ourselves in the WTC table, it’s obviously we don’t have time to bet in. That’s probably something we could have done better leading up to this, is nailing down that number three spot.”
Ten Doeschate further stressed the need to manage the player’s sleep cycles after the IPL, as nine crucial Tests in the WTC cycle are left and ‘detox’ them from white‑ball habits.
“It’s been addressed. That’s a great point as the IPL time cycle is so different to what Test matches require and the guys have had three days to do it. Obviously, early training session yesterday, today’s afternoon, tomorrow will be morning again, tomorrow will be optional. But I think guys have taken it upon themselves to be up early.
“I’ve seen a lot of guys around the breakfast room in the last couple of days. Adrian (le Roux, strength and conditioning coach) scheduled some gym stuff early morning just to force guys to get up and adjust their time slot. But these guys are good professionals. They know what’s required, and they’ll be adjusting accordingly to make sure they’re ready come Saturday morning for the Test match and early start.
“I don’t think good or bad is worth reflecting on. It’s certainly a challenge. But like I’ve said before, I’ve never seen an Indian cricketer moan or defer or not tackle head-on what they’re asked and required to do. It’s not ideal – it’s a good test of mental ability and also technical and tactical ability.
“Like I say, you’re playing an IPL final five days ago at night time, and now you’ve got to come and start a test match early in the morning at 34, 35 degrees. So, just another challenge on the road and the guys will take it on like they always do.”
He signed off by saying players are aware of making adjustments in going from white-ball cricket to red-ball cricket. “Our job is just to prepare the players for what’s ahead of them. Sleep cycle is probably top of that list and that’s been addressed. The players are acutely aware of what’s required and the change in conditions.
“The last two days and obviously today and tomorrow have been all about that. Just detoxing, guys, make sure that those habits that are required to be successful in white ball cricket are put to bed and they focus on playing proper Test cricket again.”
Article Source: IANS