Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (ANI) So far, the rain is bothering India a bit in Australia. In the first game in Perth, their innings was affected by constant breaks that did not allow the batsmen to generate any momentum. And now in Adelaide, on the eve of their second match, an optional training session has been disrupted by showers. Yet Rohit Sharma has turned up – he knows the clock is ticking. He got to eight in the first game and with Yashasvi Jaiswal forced to sit out, the former skipper knows another failure will start all sorts of conversations. Visuals from the training sessions suggested that he has been training seriously and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said that Rohit along with Virat Kohli have looked pretty good in training so far. “They are senior players. They have been batting well in the nets. Don’t think there is any reason to worry about their form,” Kotak said. While ‘Ro-Ko’ batting form is central to this ODI series — chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar has arrived in Adelaide along with fellow selector Shiv Sundar Das to monitor the situation — India also face a must-win situation at the Adelaide Oval. It is a happy hunting ground for the team, a place where they have not lost an ODI in 17 years. The pitch, the dimensions — everything has historically helped the Men in Blue, who have won nine games here and lost just five. But the current Indian team, while trying to come up with their best batting combination, is a bit short on bowling as well. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are not there which seriously affects the balance of this attack. While Bumrah lends the edge to the pace attack, Hardik’s bowling allows India to play Kuldeep Yadav as the third spinner along with Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.Reddy, Kuldeep Conundrum In Hardik’s absence, it is Nitish Reddy who fills the all-rounder slot, but the team management could not show the confidence to use him as the third pacer in Perth. “Any team would feel the absence of Hardik, but this gives us a chance to see if Reddy can come up with the goods,” Kotak said. However, it meant there was no place for Kuldeep, who has been an outstanding pioneer across formats for India, whenever he got the chance. The left-armer not being included in the XI was also one of the talking points, with former India batsman R Ashwin saying in his podcast that it may affect Kuldeep’s confidence. “If you don’t get picked in the 11th despite the results, you start doubting yourself. The question in your mind is, ‘Am I pulling the team down?’,” Ashwin said, drawing on his own example when he had to sit out Test matches in SENA countries. But Kotak insisted it had nothing to do with Kuldeep’s skills. It’s just about the team combination and the prevailing conditions that keep the wrists out at times. “We take a call based on the ground conditions and the required team combination. Whether we need an all-rounder at No.8 or whether it is important to have bat cover, that is something we have to discuss,” Kotak said, hinting that three specialists will play. If that’s the case, it will be interesting to see if Prasidh Krishna gets the nod ahead of Harshit Rana, who didn’t look too impressive in the first game. Prasidh sometimes lacks a bit of control, but has the ability to spew a magic ball. But for that to happen, the weather must hold. So far, things look bright on Thursday and the Indian team would very much like to keep it that way.
