India will need to tinker with the combination after Jadeja ban

Star India all-rounder and Man of the Match of the Colombo Test Ravindra Jadeja will not take further part in the ongoing Test series as he has been suspended to participate in the final Test. Jadeja, who made a useful unbeaten 70 besides taking 7 wickets in the game, was charged with breaching article 2.2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Player and Player Support Personnel.

The incident occurred on the third day when Jadeja threw the ball back to the keeper which narrowly missed Dimuth Karunaratne. The incident gave him three demerit points and a fine of 50 per cent of his match fees. This is the second such incident within a 24-month period as Jadeja was involved in a similar incident in the home series against New Zealand last year. Due to the accumulation of six demerit points within the last two years, Jadeja faces a one match suspension.

Jadeja must learn from this episode and not repeat it again. If he reached eight or more demerit points within 24 months, he will face a four match suspension. India will not fret much as the series is already in the bag, thanks to a convincing win on Sunday at the SCC. The squad has enough depth and quality to replace Jadeja in the final Test and aim for a win but will have to make more than one change to lend balance to the playing XI.

Kuldeep the obvious replacement for Jadeja

Many thought Kuldeep should have been in the XI following a decent debut against Australia at Dharamsala. He also had a fabulous time in the limited overs series in West Indies. But India decided to go in without the services of the left-arm chinaman bowler in both Tests. Though it is a forced change, it looks certain that Kuldeep will partner Ashwin at Pallekele in the spin department.

The 22-year old will bring variety and a bit of mystery to the proceedings as the Sri Lankans have never played him before. This is another chance for Kuldeep to stake a claim in the Test side and the youngster will be keen to grab it with both hands.

Ishant, Bhuvi could get a game too

Fast bowler Ishant Sharma could also get picked for the final Test. The 29-year old is the most experienced Test player amongst active India cricketers. After being on the bench for both Tests, India needs to give Ishant game time as he doesn’t play any other format for India hence needs some overs under his belt before India travels to South Africa next year. The veteran of 77 Tests bowls at a good channel and can extract extra bounce on the docile surfaces of Sri Lanka due to his height. India can include Ishant at the expense of Hardik Pandya, who hasn’t done too badly in the series.

Another proposition could be to have Bhuvneshwar Kumar opening with the new ball. He is someone who could make good use of the new cherry and can be a handful with the old ball, given that he has added a couple of yards pace in his bowling. The UP bowler did a decent job with whatever opportunities he was presented with in the long home Test season. His best performance was against the Kiwis, where he picked 5/48 in the first innings. The Indian think-tank will contemplate on including this 27-year old in the third Test instead of the struggling Umesh Yadav.