NEW DELHI: Team India skipper Rohit Sharma has been experimenting with spinners in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the first Test at Perth, India played Washington Sundar while resting both star spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Despite securing a win and taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, India dropped Sundar, who had contributed 33 runs and claimed two wickets, and brought in Ashwin for the second Test in Adelaide, which India lost by 10 wickets.
Daniel Vettori bowls to India players in the nets at The Gabba
For the third Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, India made another change, dropping Ashwin and fielding Ravindra Jadeja.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who is part of the commentary panel for the series, and host Jatin Sapru, took a sharp dig at Rohit’s spin strategy during their discussion.
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On Day 2 of the Gabba Test, when Steve Smith and Travis Head were in the midst of a strong partnership, Sapru remarked on India’s inconsistent approach with their spinners.
“Washington Sundar in the first Test and (Ravichandran) Ashwin in the second. India has played different spinners in every Test of this series so far,” Sapru said.
Responding with a witty comment, Harbhajan said: “Harbhajan Singh in Melbourne.”
The five-match series is currently tied at 1-1.
India previously won back-to-back Border-Gavaskar Trophy wins in Australia—first under Virat Kohli’s leadership in 2018-19 and then under Ajinkya Rahane in 2020-21.
Now, with Rohit Sharma at the helm, India are aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive series victory on Australian soil.
