India’s Test return vs Sri Lanka comes with plenty of questions originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As the India cricket team returns to Test cricket after two months, with its route to the World Test Championship final rocky and steep, the questions are plenty.
Three spinners or two? Will Kuldeep Yadav finally get a game, or will "team balance" and a longer batting order shove him aside once more? Can the batters cope with spin better than they have in recent times? And who gets the nod at No. 6 — Sarfaraz Khan or Dhruv Jurel?
Aside from the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka, India have to contend with the ghosts of then not too distant past. The image of Simon Harmer tormenting the batters in Kolkata and Guwahati is seared into memory.
How will they fare this time against Prabath Jayasuriya, who has taken 81 wickets in just 11 Tests at Galle? Rain is forecast throughout the first Test, and there's talk of a more pace-friendly pitch, but that takes nothing away from India's dilemma.
Their biggest weakness was exposed by South Africa and Harmer in those two Tests last year: batting against spin, and an inability to adapt once a pitch starts behaving unpredictably. Sri Lanka will have studied those performances closely.
MORE: What India’s warm-up win over Sri Lanka tells us before the upcoming Tests
Without B Sai Sudharsan, India go back to Devdutt Padikkal for this third Test — his last coming 628 days ago. Sarfaraz Khan has been added as Sudharsan's official replacement, and the team may fancy his game against spin on Sri Lankan tracks, but Dhruv Jurel is already part of the squad, keeping that debate alive too.
Then there's the Kuldeep conundrum. Nine years, 18 Tests. A travesty, whether you're a fan of his or not. In those 18 matches, Kuldeep has claimed 79 wickets at 22 apiece. He bided his time on the sidelines while the famed Ashwin-Jadeja combination ran rings around visiting teams, but even with Ashwin now retired, there's still no guarantee the Chinaman wrist-spinner gets into the XI.
That's because Gautam Gambhir has shown a tendency to shore up India's notoriously weak tail by picking spinners who can bat.
Without Washington Sundar and Nitish Reddy, India have options on this tour: four seamers and four spinners to choose from. Given Galle's history, the combination might seem straightforward, but the real intrigue lies in the spin department.
MORE:India's 3-or-4 spinner dilemma ahead of 1st Test against Sri Lanka at Galle
On seniority and pedigree, Jadeja and Kuldeep should rightfully claim two of the three spin slots, leaving the team management to choose between one-Test-old Manav Suthar and uncapped Saransh Jain. Suthar impressed on debut in June against Afghanistan, taking 6/33 with his left-arm spin, and bowled well against the SLC XI in Colombo. But like Jadeja, he too is a left-armer.
Jain offers something different: a right-arm offspinner who can also contribute with the bat, much like the injured Sundar, whom he has replaced for his maiden call-up. Both put in long spells in the nets this week, leaving the selection debate very much alive.
BCCI/Creimas
Jasprit Bumrah's knee troubles have only deepened India's concerns, raising the uncomfortable prospect of a post-Bumrah era arriving sooner than expected.
As I wrote recently, Mohammed Siraj has shown he can shoulder the workload in his absence, but India's other pace options haven't offered the same reassurance. Prasidh Krishna hasn't quite fixed the lengths and economy he promised to work on after the England tour, and the other two quicks are yet to play Test cricket at this level.
Sri Lanka will know exactly where India are vulnerable, and will likely use those lessons to shape both their bowling combination and the kind of pitch they prepare. If the surface offers turn and unpredictability, India's struggles against spin could once again dominate the conversation.
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Read more of Jamie Alter's regular thoughts for Cricket News here.