Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium has a reputation for being a spinner’s paradise, where bounce often becomes lower compared to other venues in India. The Kanpur pitch can be described in just one line: “rank-turner with low bounce.” The India vs Bangladesh 2nd Test will be played at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, and both Indian and Bangladeshi dugouts have already started to read and assess the pitch to get the best playing XI combination according to the conditions.
It is expected that both teams can add an extra spinner to their playing XI considering the nature of Kanpur’s wicket. However, the exact behavior of the wicket will be unveiled after playing on it, but before that, here is a short report on Kanpur’s pitch in the context of what India and Bangladesh can expect from Green Park’s wicket, and what should be their strategy considering the pitch?
The Green Park pitch will be flat with a lower bounce, which will become slower with the progress of the test match. This is in contrast to Chennai’s pitch, where both seamers and spinners got a decent amount of carry and bounce off the surface. The reason why bowlers got enough bounce in Chennai is because the pitch at MA Chidambaram Stadium was made of red soil.
Red soil pitches provide good bounce and carry to the bowlers because of their nature; red soil has less water absorption capabilities, which help the surface to dry out quickly and become harder with the progression of time. And it is an open secret that the harder the surface, the higher the bounce a professional cricket ball will get.
So, now it will be easier to understand why Kanpur’s wicket has low bounce. The black soil can absorb more water and takes more time to dry out; this is why bounce becomes lower at Kanpur’s wicket.
Now, let’s shift focus to the strategies that India and Bangladesh can use considering the Green Park pitch.
The slower pace of the Kanpur wicket is expected to influence both teams’ selection strategies. The third seamer is expected to be replaced with a third spinner. For India, it will be Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel replacing Akashdeep, and from Bangladesh’s side, Taskin Ahmed or Nahid Rana can make room for Taijul Islam.
Bangladesh’s selector Hannan Sarkar stated on Monday in Chennai that “Shakib Al Hasan’s already injured left index finger was hit while batting on the fourth day of the Chennai Test. Even if Shakib plays the Test as an all-rounder, Bangladesh may replace Nahid Rana with left-arm spinner Taijul Islam.”
Nayeem Hasan, an offspinner, is also in the visitors’ squad. He can also enter the picture if Shakib is unavailable, as Bangladesh will prefer to have three spinners in their lineup.
Meanwhile, India may go to the playing XI of the first test match, unless they want three spinners for Kanpur’s spin-friendly wicket.
The last test in Kanpur was played in 2021 between India and New Zealand, and India had included three spin options: Ashwin, Jadeja, and Axar, in their playing XI for that test match. This test match had gone to the last day, and New Zealand survived to get a draw out of this encounter, thanks to an effort from Tom Latham that took blood, sweat, and tears.
In short, India and Bangladesh both will try to play the third spinner instead of the fast bowler to capitalize on the turning track of Kanpur. However, for Bangladesh, it won’t be that easy as they will also try to strengthen their batting line-up against the fierce Indian spin attack, as they were let down by their batting in the first test match. Considering this from the Bangladesh side, a batsman with great defense against spin or a spin-bowling all-rounder can also be included in the team.
Also Read: India vs Bangladesh Head to Head in ODI
