Former captain Sunil Gavaskar today said that India should field five specialist bowlers by leaving out Stuart Binny from the playing XI if they want to win the third and final cricket Test against Sri Lanka beginning tomorrow in Colombo.
Gavaskar said swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be named in the team as India need to take 20 wickets to win the deciding Test.
“It is going to be the deciding Test and if you want to win, you need to take 20 (Lankan) wickets. To do that, India should play five specialist bowlers. In case some grass is left on the pitch, which is likely, I would prefer Bhuvneshwar in the team because you need a swing bowler to take 20 wickets in that condition,” he said.
“With great respect to Stuart, he is not your five-wicket-an-innings bowler. He did a decent job in the second Test but he lacked penetration,” the former captain said.
Asked about the indications that the pitch at the Sinhalese Sports Club may have some grass left on it, Gavaskar said, “Indian spinners have been doing a great job against the Lankan batsmen. Only Rangana Herath did something against the Indians in the first Test.
“Sri Lanka do not have quality bowlers like India have and so it could be the logic of some grass leaving on the pitch. But on continental pitches, it happens that there’s grass on the first day and gone next day, In case, some grass is left on the pitch, Bhuvi is the ideal bowler,” Gavaskar told NDTV.