Ahead of the fourth Test against Australia at Melbourne, which will be a Boxing Day Test, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma backed all-rounder Tanush Kotian’s selection in the series, saying that his performances in domestic cricket over last two years have shown that belongs to this level of the sport and is a good option for the team.
Going into the second half of the Border-Gavaskar Series against Australia, with the series level at 1-1, India has made a solitary change in their squad for the final two Tests, giving all-rounder Tanush Kotian his maiden call-up to the Test side as a replacement for spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin, who announced his retirement from international cricket after the Brisbane Test.
Speaking in the pre-match presser, Rohit said that Kuldeep is not 100 per cent fit and had a hernia surgery while other spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel has recently been blessed with a baby. Moreover, Tanush had the experience of playing the India A-Australia A series before the BGT. Kotian featured in the second tour game in Melbourne, where despite falling for a duck in the first innings, Kotian returned with 44 runs and snapped a wicket in the second.
“Yeah, Tanush was here a month back (for the Australia A) series. And Kuldeep (Yadav), I do not think, has a visa (laughs). And we wanted somebody to get here as quickly as possible. Tanush was the one who was ready and he played here,” the skipper said.
“Not that Tanush is not good enough. He has shown in the last two years what he has done in domestic cricket. And we really wanted just a backup in case, you know, we need two spinners playing here or in Sydney, you need a backup option.”
“Kuldeep, obviously, is not 100 per cent fit. He recently went through a hernia surgery. And the other options, like Axar, he had a baby, so he is not going to travel. So Tanush was the right option for us at this point. And he has certainly shown in the domestic level what he is capable of.”