“This summer in particular, Perth ODI, 48 hours after playing in Adelaide, we just thought it was a bit high risk for our players to go there then fly back to Sydney then fly back here a few days later,” he said. “Some people might disagree.

WEATHER

“You might not necessarily see the benefits of it right away, but we’ve got five Tests then straight into Sri Lanka and lots of other cricket, so it might not be until a few months later that you see [missing] those extra four days of travel pay dividends.”

India to back Ashwin over Jadeja

India’s captain Bumrah did not offer much in terms of the team’s composition, but it has become clear that off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin would be preferred to the left-armer Ravindra Jadeja.

Ashwin was vital to India’s 2020-21 series victory, especially through getting on top of Smith and Labuschagne early in the contest, and batted bravely to salvage a vital draw at the SCG.

His ability to challenge batters in the air and with bounce – much like Australia’s spinner Nathan Lyon – makes him a challenge for the likes of Head. Bumrah did confirm that his pace offsider Mohammad Shami is tracking for a return to the Test side later in the series after resuming bowling in India.

“Shami has started to play cricket and is obviously an integral part of this team,” Bumrah said. “So I’m sure the management is also keeping a keen eye and hopefully things fall in place and you might see him here as well.”

Who’s the all-rounder, Marsh or Marnus?

Cummins insisted Mitch Marsh would be fully fit and available to bowl in Perth this week in a series where the pace bowling talents of Cameron Green will be missed.

But with his injury history and also the fact Josh Inglis is still working his way back into red ball rhythm, the makeweight overs might well be delivered by the ever enthusiastic Labuschagne. This is particularly likely should Cummins want someone to bowl a few overs of part-time bouncers.

“He’ll definitely bowl this Test, definitely available to bowl,” Cummins said of Marsh. “With the way us four bowlers are set out, we never really budget for an allrounder bowling heaps, so I would imagine a few spells each innings, but he’s ready to go. His body is great, best it’s been for a while.

“[Marnus] has bowled some handy overs for Queensland, got leg spin, bowled off spin in the past and this year it’s pace bowling. I’m sure he’ll get the ball at some stage, and he’s been bowling quite a few bouncers as well, so that may be something we’ll turn to at some point.”

The fast men strike back

This will be Bumrah’s second Test as India captain in place of the absent Rohit Sharma, and he spoke openly of his advocacy for fast bowlers to take leadership roles more often in future.

“I’m one of the advocates for fast bowlers,” he said. “I don’t know what has happened in the past, but I have been a fan of fast bowling, that’s why I picked up being a bowler and I feel that physically it’s a lot more draining to bowl, but bowlers are quite smart as well. It’s not like they are not aware of where we’re heading.

“I’ve never followed a copybook plan in terms of my bowling. I go with my instincts and that’s how I’ve always played my cricket. I have a lot of faith in my instincts and gut. That’s what I go with.”

“In Australia, Pat has done a phenomenal job and got a lot of success, so there are a lot of models you could follow or take inspiration from. Kapil Dev did a fabulous job for India, a lot of other captains are there as well. So hopefully the start of a new tradition.”

Likely teams

Australia: Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.

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