There's temptation to play three spinners but you never know with Nagpur pitch

Indias Test vicecaptain KL Rahul feels its never easy to predict the nature of a track but there is a temptation to play three spinners in the first Test against Australia beginning here on ThursdayWith less than 48 hours left for the Border Gavaskar Trophy to begin Rahul didnt provide any definitive answers about three key slots in the team the wicketkeeper the third spinner and the number five in the batting orderAsked if Shubman Gill will bat in the middleorder Rahul said We still havent decided on the final XI Its going to be a tough decision to make There are guys who have performed exceedingly well and there are a few spots open so there are a few discussions going on and the players are being spoken toThe VCA track is expected to assist spinners from day one itself but Rahul doesnt want to be a soothsayer when it comes to reading the 22yard stripYes we did see it the pitch but its still too early to really know what the pitch is going to do We need to come here on the day of the match to know how its really going to play he told reportersAlso readMohammed Siraj Shubman Gill nominated for ICC Player of the Month AwardWe can only look at it and assume its going to play a certain way but you never know with pitches Yes there is the temptation to play three spinners because were playing in India Well take that call on the day of the game or the day before the game the stylish righthander saidWith skipper Rohit Sharma back in the mix Rahul was asked if he would like to bat in the middleorder where he had started his Test career back in 2014If it arises then Im more than happy to do that Whatever little cricket Ive played for the country Ive always done thatWhatever the team has asked me to do I try and prepare that way and try and do my best for the team and if that is something that the team wants me to do here Ill be more than happy to do it Rahul said although it is unlikely that he would come down the orderSo does he find it unique that there is no straightforward choice for picking the playing eleven this time aroundI dont know if it has happened before but yes this time is is going to be tough Tough decision to select an eleven All the 15 guys in the side are top quality and thats why theyre here Anyone of them on any given day can be a match winnerThe playing XI we always try and make a decision based on whats best for the team and for that particular Test match We have done that over the last two years that was his response to a PTI queryRahul didnt forget to remind the media that he is still pretty sour about the backlash that he got for dropping Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test against Bangladesh after his matchwinning performance in the series openerThere have been questions about why a certain player has played even in Bangladesh I remember Kuldeep Yadav got the man of the match and did not play the next TestObviously the only reason or the only thinking behind such decisions is which player fits the role for that particular conditionYou said I have played for 10 years but even if I have played for 2030 years and even after retirement there is nobody who can look at the pitch and say accurately that this is how it is going to playIts really based on some experience and a little bit of history of that place Even in this series thats something we will continue to do he saidWhether it is Suryakumar Yadav or Kuldeep Yadav whoever gets dropped needs to take that on chinEveryone is very clear about why theyre playing why they arent playing their roles in the team Thats a good thing and the atmosphere in the team is very goodReverse swing will play a huge roleRahul feels with the quality in the Australian bowling lineup reverse swing in the dry and abrasive conditions can play a huge roleIt always plays a huge role in India We have seen that historically as well Any team that has quality fast bowlers who can exploit reverse swing will be dangerous on pitches like these Thats something that we have tried to prepare for over the last week 10 daysWe all know the Australian team has always produced highquality fast bowlers and we know the threat they can pose Thats the beauty of playing against Australia thats what excites you and something we are kicked about With David Warner Usman Khawaja Travis Head Alex Carey and Matt Renshaw in the mix the southpaw heavy Aussie lineup may just given an advantage to the home teamI think it will help our bowlers a little bit If there are two lefthanders together and lefthanders are coming in to bat backtoback that will only mean that the bowlers get time to settle into a certain line and lengthThat also is a very unique thing I dont think any other team has that many lefthandersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove 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