India has also made one change to the squad ahead of the second Test by adding Washington Sundar to their spin reserves. The off-spinner is likely to play backup to Ravichandran Ashwin after the off-spinner bowled just two of the 27.4 overs in the fourth innings after conceding 94 and just scalping one wicket in 16 overs in the previous innings, with ten Doeschate dismissing notions that his inclusion is out of desperation.
“Ashwin’s fine. He’s absolutely fine,” ten Doeschate said. “He bowled nicely. I know he bowled only two overs in the second innings, but it looked like his pace and his rhythm were back to where it needs to be.”
“No, [bringing Sundar in is] definitely not [a desperate measure]. Look, we’ve obviously got Axar in the squad as well and with four left-handers in their XI, we want the option to take the ball away from the left-handers as well.”
“We’ve had Washy around the white-ball squad for a while and like the way he operates,” ten Doeschate said. “And it’s also nice to see guys are getting rewarded for Ranji Trophy performances as well. So hopefully that sends a good message out to the other guys and it’s certainly not a desperate measure. We’ve certainly got a lot of faith in the spinners that we have, and we just want to make sure we’re absolutely prepared for the conditions and if that does mean taking the ball away from the left-hander, we want that option,” he added.
