Voice louder against choice of spinner in Virat Kohli's team India

CHENNAI : “When we looked at the pitch, we didn’t think about the (Ravindra) Jadeja option. We thought that four quicks would be enough. Nathan Lyon bowled really well. But, we never thought about the spin option, to be honest.”

The inevitable loss that was Perth has become official. And, skipper Virat Kohli’s defence of India’s decision to go in without a spinner and picking Umesh Yadav over Bhuvneshwar Kumar on a green strip, by extension, will have many sharpening their knives to dissect that one particular bone of contention: selection.

Shunting Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan around. Dropping Bhuvneshwar every now and then. Under-utilising Hardik Pandya the bowler. Fielding two spinners on a green top that had been under covers.

Handing a work-in-progress stumper his debut in a nation where the ball moves around like a frisbee. Sidelining Karun Nair altogether. Not giving Murali Vijay the rope KL Rahul has been given.

And now this; another entry in what has been a baffling year for India, selection-wise. Throw in the outcomes, and you can’t really blame the critics from laser-guiding their ire onto Kohli’s strategic nous.

Former India spinner Arshad Ayub — who was also the team manager during the previous Australia tour — felt that in this context, the skipper’s all-in nature is both a boon and bane.

“Kohli is the kind of captain who will not back down. He’s bent on winning, and not afraid to risk a loss for that. In hindsight, a spinner in Jadeja and a pacer in Bhuvneshwar could have seen a different outcome in Perth. But then, the management perhaps had concerns over the latter’s fitness. On that hard pitch, their logic would have been to go in with four pacers with extra batting cover in Vihari.

“Even in terms of replacements, Dhawan could perhaps serve as a better fit - going by his record in Australia - instead of Mayank (Agarwal). But, that’s Kohli for you. He doesn’t get bogged down by the thoughts of losing. He just wants to win. Had Perth turned into an India win, these conversations wouldn’t have even happened.”

But all this begets another question, one that boils down to the behind-the-scenes bit about what happens before the team-sheet gets its official signatures. Much has been talked about the kind of administrative grip Kohli has over the XI. Questions about how head coach Ravi Shastri himself is a “yes man” have popped up in public view.

With all that as a backdrop, it wouldn’t be wrong to conjecture that this alleged lack of democracy could be preventing different perspectives — like fielding Bhuvneshwar, Jadeja in Perth, for example — from being thrown around before the final XI are zeroed in on.But, Ayub uses his own experiences from the 2014-15 tour as manager  — that series was also the time when Kohli became Test captain — to make a case for the think-tank and the skipper being egalitarian in their approach.

“Back then, everybody used to have their say during meetings. And all those words were listened to. It wasn’t as if one man was taking decisions. From what I saw of Kohli, he always had an ear for anyone with an idea or a suggestion. I believe it’s still the same.”

Everyone is bound to have their fingers crossed for Perth to serve as a bookend for this year of selection debates, and not Melbourne.