Batting-order shuffle on cards

Sydney,

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s sudden retirement from Test cricket has left the Indian thinktank fretting over the ideal playing combination that will take on Australia in the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), starting next Tuesday.The selection of Wriddhiman Saha, the only back-up wicketkeeper in the squad, is a certainty. But the team management would need to mull over a couple of changes in the line-up for a final shot at redemption during the first assignment of 2015.The batting line-up has some cause for concern, mainly due to Shikhar Dhawan’s prolonged bad form (167 runs from 6 innings @27.83). There are a couple of possibilities emerging in case Dhawan is dropped — in that case, specialist opener KL Rahul would be sent up alongside Murali Vijay. While Dhoni was sympathetic in his assessment that young Rahul shouldn’t be judged on the basis of a single Test, his shot selection in his debut Test had left a lot to be desired.In case Rahul also gets the boot, then there might be a chance that Rahane, who has had the experience of opening for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy, would be assigned the job. That would allow for both Rohit Sharma and Raina to be inducted into the middle-order. If either Dhawan or Rahul retains his place, then the choice for inclusion would be between Rohit and Raina. Rohit has not justified his talent at the Test level in overseas conditions.But Raina’s non-inclusion in the middle-order during the first three Tests may be an indication that he is still not in the scheme of things in Test cricket. Doubts persist over his ability to cope with the short-pitched bowling that will be dished out by the likes of Mitchell Johnson.

Debut for Axar?

The SCG has proved to be helpful for the slow bowlers, with the track offering some turn by the end of the third day. Spinners come in handy during the third and the fourth innings.This just might bring in rookie left-arm spinner Axar Patel into the equation if India decide to go in with two specialist spinners instead of the lone spinner in Ravichandran Ashwin. Patel was flown in as a replacement for the injured Ravindra Jadeja, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation for his left shoulder injury.India’s Test captain Virat Kohli has had a good look at the 20-year-old Gujarat spinner in the past as he has played most of his nine ODIs under Kohli’s captaincy.Patel, who has 38 wickets from 11 domestic first-class games, will be looking to be accurate in order to stem the flow of runs in case he is selected. — PTI