Toss up between Ishant, Ashwin as Kohli willing to risk batting depth to take 20 wickets

India have made two brave calls in their last two Tests in England and in the hindsight, those calls have returned mixed results for the side. At first, they selected the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand calling them part of their “best bowling attack”.

However, as the big WTC final took its course, the team management learnt their lessons of respecting conditions as Jadeja was under bowled due to more requirements of pacers, they took another big call for the first Test of the series against England.

They left out Ravichandran Ashwin from the Trent Bridge Test and that too after his superb spell of bowling in the and in a county game for Surrey at the Oval. The move ignited many debates but the team management believed that having a “template” of four pacers and one spinner in the form of Ravindra Jadeja provided them with the perfect chance to beat England in Nottingham with spells of rain predicted across all days.

But, why did Jadeja was preferred over Ashwin and Shardul Thakur was preferred as the fourth seamer over Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav?

It was the batting credentials of both Jadeja and Shardul that made the case easier for them as India were reluctant to field a batting-thin side in the first Test of an important series.

Their complicated quest of finding a “deeper” batting order and “balanced” playing XI has not stopped at the Trent Bridge as now Shardul has injured his hamstring and has been ruled out of the second Test.

This complicates the issue further as either it will force the team management to disown their favourite “template” which captain Kohli had affirmed to carry on with or it will ask them to give up on the batting depth.

Addressing the concerns around the team selection for the second Test, Kohli dropped a subtle hint that India will not be desperate to search batting depth and instead will look to get 20 England wickets.

"For us, it's about finding that perfect balance but if someone like Shardul is not available, then we definitely need to think how to pick up 20 wickets and not try to plug in another guy, who can give us some runs with the bat. I think we are very comfortable with how the first Test went," Kohli said.

Commending the batting performance of Jadeja and the credentials of Shardul, Kohli said that the team will be richer in the batting department after the left-hander’s runs in the first Test while Shardul brings more batting ability to the table.  However, he said that there was a need for runs from the lower order only because the middle-order trio of himself, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane could not stand up with the bat.

He refused to admit that Shardul’s absence from the second Test will limit their batting depth and instead he chose to see this as an opportunity for other batsmen to “step up”.

"Good thing is that Jadeja has got runs in the first Test already and he is going into the second game confident that already makes our batting deeper, the lower order contributed with bat a well. Yes, Shardul brings in more batting ability but having said that from the batsmen's point of view, we are well placed because Pujara, Jinx (Rahane) and myself we didn't score too many,” Kohli said in the pre-match press conference.

"Every game is an opportunity for other batters to step up as well, Rohit and KL played very well and we are very comfortable with how we are placed as a batting unit, and we don’t feel that we will be a batsman short if Shardul doesn't play," he said.

Albeit he conceded failure in the middle order including him, he did not highlight the form of his vice-captain  Rahane and Pujara as an “area of concern” and instead said that the duo adds collective strength to the Indian batting order.

"I don't think that's an area of concern. Our basic focus is not to think individually where people are but collectively how much strength they bring into the team is our focus. What's your best and strongest batting unit that you can take on the park," the skipper said.

Rishabh Pant has continued to bat in his audacious way on the tour fo England so far and Kohli has sent a public backing to his method. Kohli said that the team management has set very “clear communication” with the left-hander that they don’t see him batting with a defensive mindset. However, he reiterated that the wicketkeeper has an “intelligent” sense of batting to not throw away games and scores from crucial positions.

"That's basically how he plays. He obviously has the capability to carry on and play long innings in that manner. It doesn't necessarily have to be a very defensive role. Obviously, when there is a demand of the situation, he (Pant) is intelligent enough to understand if we are looking to save a game. Obviously, he won't play those kinds of shots but wherever there is 50-50 situation and he has a chance to change the momentum of the game he will take that chance. That's how he plays and we want him to be that way," he asserted.

"Obviously, communication is very clear from the team and where we are heading as a team and what kind of approach is needed in different situations. We expect him to play innings that changes momentum and tilt the balance towards us."

Kohli himself could not get going in the last Test and was scalped by his longtime nemesis James Anderson on the very first ball he faced. He has not had a great number at Lord’s and the India skipper would love to correct all those mistakes at the home of cricket and end an elongated drought of a hundred.