Three spinners is an option - Rohit Sharma on India’s team combination against Australia

Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma has kept his options of playing three spinners on Sunday for the team’s World Cup 2023 opening clash against Australia completely open, with the Chennai pitch historically aiding more spin than pace. 

Ravichandran Ashwin was drafted into the squad as Axar Patel’s replacement, and there potentially exists a combination where the veteran off-spinner could partner Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav to form a three-pronged spin attack against Australia. 

Rohit, in a pre-match press conference, addressed the multiple options he has at hand and how Hardik Pandya’s development as a pacer bodes well for the team.

The India captain said, "I don't really consider Hardik Pandya as just a seamer. He's a proper fast bowler, who can crank up good speed. So that gives us an advantage. That gives us that luxury of playing three spinners and three seamers as well.”

He added, “So there's a possibility that we can play three spinners on this pitch with three seamers as well, so it gives us that balance, and it gives us that number eight batting option as well. We have to come here again tomorrow afternoon and see what the pitch looks like but yeah, three spinners is definitely an option."

The 36-year-old also referred to a match against Australia back in March at this venue while talking about how India will look to stick to their strengths and consider all aspects to put their best foot forward.

"We played against Australia on this very same venue in March and we were slightly behind in that game. But we knew exactly what went wrong for us. So hopefully we shouldn't repeat that mistake that we made in that game in March. But again, like I said, it's a fresh day, fresh game for both teams."

“For us, it will be very important that we stick to what we want to do as a team, focus on our strengths, and assess the conditions here. You got to assess in terms of how you want to bat, how you want to bowl, what lengths, line for the spinners as well. So, everything comes into play.”

India will take on Australia for both the teams’ opening encounter of the 2023 ODI World Cup, and the match will commence at 2 PM IST at the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.