Shreyas Iyer to make Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur

Ajinkya Rahane’s announcement that Shreyas Iyer was going to make his Test debut a day before the opening Test in Kanpur against New Zealand, came as a surprise, but his reluctance to reveal the combination was not.

With K L Rahul injured and out for the two Tests, India needed to bolster their ailing middle-order, and with Hanuma Vihari touring South Africa with the India A side, the management thought it prudent to insert Iyer into the middle-order while pushing Shubman Gill to the familiar opening slot.

But Rahane, despite obvious signs of a three-spin attack owning to conditions, maintained that they will take a call on the combination on Thursday morning.

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“I am not too bothered about the combination,” announced the stand-in skipper during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “No matter who we decide to go with, we know they’re ready for the role. We will take a call on that in the morning.”

Rahane continued to shy away when asked if they will play an extra batter, a pertinent question considering how mediocre they themselves have been against spin. “We need to apply ourselves more. It’s not easy playing against spin on some of these wickets so we need to learn how to adapt and express ourselves without thinking too much about what has happened in the past,” he said.

Kane Williamson opined much the same but offered that tackling the ball that does not turn will be the bigger challenge. “We expect the ball to turn so when the ball doesn’t, it does become a challenge,” he said. “We have seen many teams face similar situations here so we need to learn from them, and we have our own learnings to dive into.”

While Williamson was referring to the series in 2016, with slow and low conditions becoming the norm, the side which has spent many months on the road, could rely on muscle memory to put up a strong front.

“The scheduling has been difficult,” said Williamson when asked about his side’s tiring run since the final of the T20 World Cup. “We have been on the road a while, but playing in India is a dream. We love the experience here so that makes up for how much cricket we have had to play. We anyway can’t control these things, so we just try and make the most of it.”

“In that regard, I think we have had good enough exposure to these conditions,” he added.

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