Umesh Yadav best India pacer at home since 2017; Will he pip Siraj to partner Shami in BGT 2022-23?

Umesh Yadav best India pacer at home since 2017; Will he pip Mohammed Siraj to partner Mohammed Shami in Border Gavaskar Trophy 2022-23?

India will kickstart the 4-match Test series against Australia with the first game at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on February 9. This series will decide the fate of India in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23. Although India have a great record at home in Tests, Australia are extremely competitive and have developed a new aggressive look under the captaincy of Pat Cummins.

Most pitches in India generally favour spinners but pace bowlers can extract the moisture in the pitch early in the day and make the ball bounce from good length areas to give early breakthroughs. Also, they can be dangerous with the new ball and can also employ reverse swing when the ball gets old. Also, the pitch at Dharamsala, the venue for the third Test, favours pacers. So, fast bowlers will be in demand in the Test series.

India’s pace bowlers at home since 2017

Surprisingly, it is not Jasprit Bumrah or Mohammed Shami, but Umesh Yadav who has been the most impressive pacer in India since 2017, bagging 65 wickets in 16 Tests, followed by Shami with 38 wickets in 10 Tests in the given timeframe. Bumrah has played just 4 Tests in India since 2017 but bagged 14 wickets. Number 3 on the list is Ishant Sharma (38) who used to handle the new ball then, but he has now been phased out.

So, what does it imply?

Umesh Yadav has been the best pacer on Indian soil as he can extract bounce on even lifeless tracks meant for spinners. Either Mohammed Shami or Ishant Sharma has generally partnered Umesh in Tests in India since 2017. Bumrah, who has been the best India pacer overseas, could feature only in 4 Tests at home since 2017, but got maximum returns with 14 wickets and has the best bowling average in the list.

However, Ishant and Bumrah are not in the squad for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy 2022-23. Ishant has been phased out while Bumrah is fighting a long injury layoff and making himself fit to return to international cricket. But Shami and Umesh are in the squad for the first two Tests with the ever-improving Siraj. The squad also has Jaydev Unadkat who recently returned to Test cricket after playing his first Test 12 years ago. Unadkat is also in top form as he recently bagged a hat-trick in the first over of a Ranji Trophy group-stage match.

Read More: IND v AUS, BGT 2022-23: Rahul & Rohit have blunted Cummins well as openers since BGT 2016-17

India’s pacers’ returns against Australia since 2017

Let’s take a look at how India’s pacers have performed in the Border Gavaskar Trophy since the 2016-17 series in India. For the record, India have won all the three Test series against Australia since 2016-17, one home and two away.

India’s Pacers in BGT 2016-17

In the 2016-17 series, Umesh was the most outstanding pacer from either side with 17 wickets in 4 matches at an excellent average of 23.41. The next best pacer was Josh Hazlewood of Australia with 9 wickets in 4 games.

India’s pacers in BGT 2018-19 & 2020-21

Jasprit Bumrah was India’s star bowler in the last two away series against Australia down under, with 32 wickets from 7 matches. But in the 2020-21 series where Indian pace-bowling options were depleted due to injuries, India found a new hero in Mohammed Siraj who picked up 13 wickets in 3 Tests to emerge as the highest wicket-taker for India in that series.

Read More: Border Gavaskar Trophy 2022-23: Suryakumar Yadav best replacement for Shreyas Iyer in Nagpur Test?

Big Question: What pace bowling combination should India go for in BGT 2022-23?

For the record, the Tests are being held at Nagpur, Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad. Except for Dharmasala which is known as a pace-friendly wicket, the wickets at the other venues might favour spinners. Hence, India could go with two pacers in all Tests except at Dharamsala where a third pacer would be required.

Alternatives

Mohammed Shami–Umesh Yadav

Just for his consistent bowling on Indian pitches in Tests, Umesh commands a place in the XI, but then Mohammed Siraj would have to wait for his chances as Shami is the first-choice pacer in the line-up. Like Siraj, Umesh too has the knack of picking up early wickets and bouncing out opponents. Shami, from the other end, could pile up the pressure with his tight bowling to draw mistakes from the opposition batters, and get them out.

Mohammed Shami-Mohammed Siraj

Siraj has been the most improved bowler in international cricket. He has developed new variations that have helped him earn wickets in ODIs recently. His variations on Indian pitches would come in handy, especially in providing early wickets and then transferring the mantle to spinners to come to the party.

Mohammed Shami is the most experienced bowler in the squad, and his consistent line and length will make Aussie batters restless and throw away wickets in frustration. Hence, Shami would provide Rohit Sharma the option of picking up wickets when a partnership would start building up.

Read More: Border Gavaskar Trophy 2022-23: With Pant out, mantle of tackling spinners on Pujara & Iyer

Shami-Siraj-Unadkat

If India go with three pacers, which is likely at the pace-friendly wicket in Dharamsala, then Siraj and Jaydev Unadkat could partner the first-choice pacer in Shami. Umesh will miss out as Unadkat could exploit the moisture on the wicket better than the former. Siraj will provide the X-factor in the pace bowling department with his variations, while Shami will hold one end up with his tight attacking bowling. Hence, there will be no respite for Aussies when three attacking pacers hunt for them in unison.

India’s squad for the first two Tests

Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav

The first of the four-match Test series will begin from February 9 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) in Nagpur. The second Test will be played in Delhi from February 17-21 after which both teams will fly to Dharamsala for the third Test from March 1-5, followed by the fourth Test in Ahmedabad from March 9-13.

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