Pant AND Jurel: India's strategic detour

"If I didn't play that stroke, my time wouldn't have been this bad" – Rishabh Pant confided in his childhood coach Davendra Sharma during rehabilitation. The stroke in question was an audacious, premeditated reverse sweep off Chris Woakes in Manchester that he missed and took flush on the boot, laying him off for months.

"His mindset is such that the more he doesn't play, the more he's itching to get back," Sharma said of Pant's restlessness. "He thinks only I am not able to play while the rest are playing. Sometimes, he doesn't even watch those games."

On his comeback trail, Pant vowed not to make that kind of mistake again – one that sets him back and forces him to watch games he'd rather be shaping. Yet he remained true to his unorthodox style.

At the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, Pant showed he was fit to reclaim his Test spot. His 113-ball 90 in the second innings of the first unofficial Test against South Africa A came after he'd kept wickets for nearly 140 overs. In the next game, he took a hit to his helmet trying to reverse sweep a fast bowler and copped two more body blows before retiring hurt. He returned to bat a whirlwind 65 that captured everything about him.

At every stage of his career, Pant has been invaluable to India's Test side. Moving on from Wriddhiman Saha became easier because Pant looked every bit as generational as MS Dhoni. India's balance demanded focus elsewhere, while Pant fit seamlessly into the middle-order and behind the stumps.

Dhruv Jurel has made it nearly impossible for India to stick to the convention of picking only one wicketkeeper-batter. He's established his batting credentials while meeting all expectations as a specialist backup. His last eight first-class scores read: 140, 1, 56, 125, 44, 6*, 132* and 127*.

The twin tons in Bengaluru against South Africa A came with Pant batting alongside him. In perhaps the clearest sign of India's future, the two combined for a seventh-wicket partnership – adding 82 off 54 balls.

Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate confirmed India's direction: "I don't think you can leave him [Jurel] out for this Test. Given the way Dhruv's gone in the last six months and scoring two 100s in Bangalore last week, he's certain to play this week."

"The primary thing is to set up a strategy to win the game, and then if you can accommodate giving guys a chance for development, that comes in. Our position certainly hasn't changed on Nitish. Given the importance of this series, and given the conditions we think we're going to face, he might not start in this Test."

Variables justify this strategic rethink. India don't have an overseas Test assignment until next August, and even then in subcontinental conditions in Sri Lanka. More crucially, South Africa bring a far superior bowling attack than West Indies offered last month. Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj alone have played more Tests than three-quarters of the West Indies bowling unit.