Australia vs India: Dean Jones suggests visitors to make a change in the playing XI for the SCG Test

All eyes are now set on the fourth and final Test starting in Sydney on Thursday and with India including three spinners into their 13-member squad on the eve of the match, it is India’s spinning department that has come up for discussion more than the eye-catching pace battery. India have included Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin in the squad which also has Ravindra Jadeja who played the third match in Melbourne and former players have come up with their bits of advice on which spinners to play.

Former India batsman VVS Laxman is in favor of playing Ashwin and Jadeja at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) which is known for its spinning-friendly wicket but former Australia batsman Dean Jones wants Yadav to join Jadeja in the game to boost the visitors’ chances to win the series – their first ever on the Australian soil. India won the crucial third Test match in Melbourne by 137 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the four-game series after Australia squared it in Perth.

Ashwin, who missed second and third Tests after suffering an abdominal injury in the first in Adelaide, is a doubtful starter for the fourth game and though he has been included in the 13-member squad, the final decision on him playing will only be taken on the match day morning. India will remember the backlash they faced by playing an injured Ashwin towards the end of the Test series in England last year and his poor show did not help the side in times of need.

Should India gamble with their line-up? asks Prof Deano

“The Sydney pitch will be a bit drier and will turn. Australia will play Marnus Labuschagne in place of Mitchell Marsh. The question is: Will India gamble with their line-up? I would consider playing Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav,” Jones wrote in his column for Times of India.

“Australia don’t play left-arm orthodox well – Jadeja bowled beautifully in Melbourne – and they don’t play leg spin well either, and that’s why they need to bring in Kuldeep.”

Yadav has played just five Tests so far, the last being against the Windies at home last October, picking up 19 scalps. Apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yadav is the only Indian bowler to have picked fifers in all three formats of the game. The Chinaman bowler has played three T20Is earlier in this tour besides the only warm-up game in Sydney, picking four wickets in all.

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