India has been accused of “straight-up pitch doctoring” as Australia eyes a major selection gamble in the form of uncapped off-spinner Todd Murphy.
And fellow Victorian Peter Handscomb is reportedly close to returning to the Test side after a four-year absence, with SCG starters Ashton Agar and Matt Renshaw facing the axe.
In total three changes appear likely – though unconfirmed – with Scott Boland almost certain to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood.
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Australia is expected to announce its team at the toss, just before 3pm AEDT on Thursday.
It is understood members of Murphy’s family are travelling to India after being notified he would play in the first Test.
Speaking from Nagpur on Wednesday, Australian captain Pat Cummins did not reveal the playing XI but confirmed the selectors had chosen the side.
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Cummins said 22-year-old Murphy would be “as prepared as he could be” for his baptism of fire in India.
“He’s been bowling beautifully in the nets over here,” he said.
“He’s started really well for Victoria in first-class cricket. If he got the nod, he’s got Nathan Lyon down the other end that he can work with.
“He’s ready – everyone in the squad here has had really good preparation. Whoever we pick is 100 per cent ready to go.”
Murphy’s inclusion has likely come at the expense of either Ashton Agar or Scott Boland, although Australia may have opted to elevate keeper Alex Carey to number six to accommodate an extra bowler in the side.
His selection caps off a whirlwind start to his first-class career, in which he has claimed 29 wickets at 25 in seven matches.
He starred with hauls of 3-44 and 4-42 in his most recent Sheffield Shield game against NSW in December.
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The 22-year-old toured Sri Lanka with Australia A in 2022 and impressed with a haul of 4-52 in Hambantota.
Australia has not opted for two right arm off-spinners in its bowling line-up since Tim May and Peter Taylor played together on the 1988 tour of Pakistan.
Handscomb is looming as a replacement for Matt Renshaw, who batted at No.6 in the SCG Test against South Africa, to help balance a lefty-heavy line-up.
Renshaw playing would mean five of Australia’s top seven are left-handed, along with David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Alex Carey, with the Nine papers reporting Handscomb is “on the verge of a recall”.
“I think it (handed-ness) is a factor over here. With so much traffic from the right-handers bowling, at times there is a bit more out there for the left-handers,” Cummins said.
“The Indian line-up is going to be packed full of right-handers, so I think it plays a small factor.”
Handscomb has not played at Test level since the 2019 New Year’s Test in Sydney, also against India.
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It comes as Australia is left at a potential disadvantage by a blatant tactic that should have the ICC asking questions, according to former Test cricketer Simon O’Donnell.
Journalists captured Indian groundstaff watering the centre of the pitch and the off-side for right-handers, but left the leg-side dry and only rolled the centre of the wicket.
“The ICC should step in and do something about it, if they think it’s not right,” O’Donnell said on SEN Breakfast.
“If they think the pitch is not right, there’ll be an ICC referee at the game and the ICC will be watching this game.
“But there’s so many when it comes to India, we have all of these discussions, and nothing seems to happen.
“If they really think there’s a pitch here that doesn’t play to the normal standards of Test cricket and the characteristics of this ground, then the ICC need to do something.”
Veteran sportswriter Robert Craddock was also critical.
“The classic saying about pitches is, ‘Oh, it’s the same for everyone’,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“When the Gabba pitch too much grass was left on it, people were saying, ‘Yes, it was not a great wicket, but it was the same for everyone’.
“But you can’t say that about this pitch, Australia has six left-handers in their top eight, so if you start multi-preparing parts of the deck that’s straight-up pitch doctoring, it’s poor.
“90 per cent of me feels frustrated about it, but the other 10 per cent is it’s a narrative for the series, it’s just building up beautifully, isn’t it?
“It’s a bit of old-fashioned hijinks, Test cricket needs these plots and the drama side of me enjoys it.”
On Tuesday Steve Smith declared Cameron Green was “unlikely to play” as he navigated his return from a broken finger, opening the door for either Peter Handscomb or Matt Renshaw to take that middle-order slot.
Handscomb, who is a right-handed batter and renowned for his work against spin, could leapfrog left-handed Renshaw given the abundance of lefties in the Australian line-up.
But while the pitch looks set to be dry and take turn, it’s not a totally unexpected occurrence for the Aussies who have been plotting their path to success against spin for some time.
Smith, the only batter in the squad with a Test century in India, declared it was all about being proactive, not dictated too, and that wouldn’t change even after his first look at the pitch.
“The guys have been working a lot on their plans and their methods when the pitch is flat and when it has been spinning,” Smith said.
“If it is spinning from ball one you have to be proactive, looking to score runs because one will have your name on it if you sit back and defend.
“So having a plan straight up is important.”
The Australians have been using spinners in training who replicate the likes of Ravi Ashwin and the Indian left-armers as part of that planning.
“We’re not overthinking things,” Smith said.
“Hopefully, we have the tools in the kitbag to handle them.”
Indian captain KL Rahul said his side was preparing to bat on spinning pitches.
“The things that we’ve worked on obviously is playing spin. We know how pitches are going to be here in India and what to expect,” he said.
The obvious nature of the local curator’s work on the pitch came after former Indian coach
Ravi Shastri declared he wanted all pitches in the four-Test series to “turn from day one” to ram home the home team’s spin advantage.
It’s something Australian captain Pat Cummins and his squad should have known was coming but not something they’re likely to let rattle them.
In the recently released second season of “The Test” documentary, Cummins revealed his approach to combating challenging conditions was not to get upset by them.
“You can’t kick up a stink that this isn’t a lovely flat wicket like you might get at the SCG,” Cummins said.
“You’ve got to embrace it. You’ve got to be really proactive straightaway. You’ve got to have a really, really clear game plan, and literally from ball one, you’ve got to back that in.”
Australian keeper Alex Carey also said it was crucial to keep an open mind and just play whatever comes.
“I think the open-mindedness of what we’re going to come up against, what team they’re going to put on the park and what scenario I’m going to come in at.
“Try to plan and prepare the best we can and then once we‘re in the middle, it’s enjoy the contest, be patient with all the things that come into your head and then hope for the best.”