India skipper Rohit Sharma spoke about the permutation and combination of how the playing XI for each Test can be selected in the four-match Test series against Australia. The Indian team management and touring selector will be facing confusion with key player Rishabh Pant unavailable following a car accident. Rohit said that they will apply the horses for courses policy for the upcoming series against Australia and will not go with the same combination each Test match.
Pant's absence has opened up a middle-order spot and a wicketkeeper spot and Rohit said it is going to be a tough call for the team to select the playing lineup as Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav are currently in brilliant form.
"It is going to be a tough one. We know a lot of the guys are in good form, so it is a good sign for the team. When you have selection issues that say a lot about how the guys are performing, So, that is very crucial from the team's perspective.
"What we have to do is we have to go to each venue, try and check the conditions and pick the best eleven. It is as simple as that and that is what we have done in the past and that is what we will do going forward. The message to the boys has been very clear. We are ready to play horses for courses. On whichever pitch, whoever we need we have to bring them in. As simple as that.
"That is something that we have spoken to the guys at the start of the series and we will continue to do that. We will have to assess the conditions we are playing in, who are the right guys to counter that conditions, so we are quite open to all of the options," Sharma told the media on Wednesday.
Rohit also shed light on the player who can fulfill Rishabh's role:
"Rishabh was a very, very important player for us, how he batted for us in the middle order in the past few years for us. We will definitely miss that. Keeping an eye on that particular aspect, not the middle order, even the top order. You are playing on such challenging pitches, you need guys to stand up and see, find ways to score runs because it won't be easy," said the India skipper.
"We have seen it in the last few series when we played here (in India), orthodox cricket (needs) to be played as well. We have had a talk with all the batters to find their own ways of scoring runs, countering what there is to offer and all of that. Hopefully, tomorrow when we start the game, we can achieve all those things," he added.
Asked about choosing between Gill and Surya in the playing XI, Rohit expressed that he will have to take a look at the pitch to make that decision.
"Gill and Surya, they both bring different things to the table for us. Gill we all know has been in supreme form in the last 3-4 months. A couple of hundreds, big hundreds as well. On the other hand, Surya as well in T20 cricket has shown what he is capable of. That kind of game he can bring to Test cricket as well. So both are quality options. For us, we have not decided yet. We will keep in mind all aspects of the game. I need to have a final look at the pitch and when I do that probably we'll have someone in mind," he said.
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