India left out Ishant Sharma, and left the door open to play two frontline spinners in Sydney for the final Test against Australia.
Who the spinners will be, however, will be decided on the morning of the Test, with doubts remaining over the availability of Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ashwin, who picked up a groin strain in the first Test, is still not fully fit, India announced at the pre-match press-conference. But when the BCCI announced the squad of 13 on their Twitter feed for the game starting on Thursday, January 3, his name featured, with the board clarifying that a final decision would be taken on the morning of the match.
Hinting at the option of giving Vihari greater bowling responsibility in the absence of Ashwin, Kohli added, “[Ashwin’s absence] does make you alter your plans a little bit. But the fact that Vihari has bowled beautifully whenever we’ve given him the ball makes us absolutely calm about Ashwin not getting to play.
“[Vihari] has looked like picking up a wicket whenever he comes to bowl. He’s pitching the ball in the right areas and we are looking at him as a solid bowling option, specially in this Test match because he’s got pace on the ball, he puts in the effort and he’s economical – that’s all you need from a guy who will bowl 10-12 overs a day.”
