“We’ll Assess Their Fitness”: Ryan ten Doeschate Plays It Safe on Rohit and Virat’s Selection Status

With a mere five-day turnaround from a gruelling IPL final, the Indian men’s cricket team finds itself trading the midnight finishes of the shortest format for the rigorous demands of Test match cricket. Ahead of the one-off Test match against Afghanistan, India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate addressed the media, shedding light on the team’s tactical shift, the battle for the crucial number three slot, and the unique challenges of shifting from a T20 mindset to traditional red-ball grit.

One of the most immediate hurdles facing the Indian squad is resetting their physiological and technical habits after a lengthy franchise season. Going from sleeping late and waking up at noon to a sharp 8:30 AM start in soaring 35-degree heat is no mean feat. Ten Doeschate elaborated on the intensive efforts being put in behind the scenes to realign the players’ routines.

“The IPL time cycle is so different to a Test match as required. The guys have had three days to do it and obviously an early training session yesterday,” he said in the pre-match press conference on Thursday. “Guys have taken it upon themselves to be up early. I’ve seen a lot of guys around the breakfast room in the last couple of days. You know, everyone’s scheduled some gym stuff early morning just to force guys to get up and adjust the time slot. These guys are good professionals. They know what’s required and they’ll be adjusting to make sure they’re ready for Saturday morning.”

However, the physical shift is only half the battle. The technical readjustment required to move from the impulsive nature of white-ball cricket to the calculated patience of the longest format remains a massive focus. Ten Doeschate described this process as a literal “detox”.

“From a white to red-ball perspective or IPL to Test-match cricket is really detoxing them, and that’s what these three days have been. You know, you want to make sure guys are making decisions based on where the ball is pitched, you want to make a few technical tweaks on how you set-up maybe, and how you keep your bat shape and all those sorts of things. Just detoxing guys, make sure that those habits that are required to be successful in white-ball cricket sort of are put to bed, and we focus on playing proper Test cricket.”

With India strictly prioritising a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, the management is looking at the bigger picture when constructing the playing XI in the longest format in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Mullanpur. While structural changes have raised questions about combinations, the assistant coach dropped a massive hint that a heavy spin-reliance will dictate India’s approach, as they prepare for a long, grueling stretch of red-ball matches.

“I would imagine we play two seamers, and a spinner with two spin-allrounders if you consider that the two guys we brought in can bat a little bit as well. We certainly want to start preparing for the road ahead. It’s going to be nine crucial Test matches in the WTC cycle, and sort of our last stab at making that final which is top of priority at the moment. So, I think if you look forward to where we’ve got to play, who we’ve got to play against, we’re probably going to look to set up the team more with that in mind, and that would suggest three spinners.”

Regarding player fitness, pacer Mohammed Siraj is firing on all cylinders after earlier fitness concerns. “Siraj bowled yesterday, he looked absolutely fine,” Ten Doeschate confirmed, while noting that newcomers Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar have brought great energy to the camp, though their immediate selection remains a long shot given the established options.

On the high-profile subject of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, ten Doeschate remained tight-lipped on their fitness status but systematic: “Official communication will come on that. You know, it’s obviously big news when it’s someone like Virat or Rohit, but the same protocols will will be in place where we’ll assess the fitness of those guys, and we’ve got a few days now to to decide whether they are fit enough to play and and be part of the squad, and make adjustments accordingly. But I’m sure some official communication will come through as soon as the medical team has confirmed.”

When asked about players playing through injuries and niggles during the IPL, ten Doeschate said, “I think it’s a very individualistic thing, you know, with the with the India hat on, we want the players to be at their absolute best when they’re on international duty, and that’s a case of managing it on a case-by-case basis. We also appreciate that uh it’s a big time of year for those players. Uh the IPL is a showpiece domestic competition.

“So, it’s striking a balance between those two things, and I think with the workload guys have had playing in the last IPL, or certainly a large proportion of the contracted players, I think we’ve done fairly well out of it. You know, injuries happen, you can’t protect guys by not playing them, but we certainly need to identify the key parts of the international schedule and make sure our best players are uninjured, but also physically at their peak when we need them most.”

Ever since Cheteshwar Pujara’s exit from the Test setup, the crucial number three spot has seen continuous experimentation, with Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, and Devdutt Padikkal all being floated as options. Ten Doeschate candidly admitted that the constant volatility isn’t ideal and that the management needs to throw their weight behind a long-term incumbent.

“There’s been a lot of changes in that spot and that’s not ideal, you know. I think you need to look at the incumbents for that role and maybe stick with someone. It’s a difficult position to bat in and a very important position to bat. We want to make a decision and then trust that person to grow into the role, and ideally quickly because with where we find ourselves in the WTC table, it’s obvious we don’t have time to bed an arm.”

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant returns to the Test environment without an official vice-captaincy title, but his presence as an emotional and tactical anchor remains undisputed. According to the coach, Pant’s intrinsic aura does not require a formal badge.

“I don’t think he needs a formal title to be a leader in an elite setup like this, and I think Rishabh understands that. I think he’s committed to playing a good role model and senior player. With Rishabh’s brilliance, we don’t want to take away all the stuff that he does, you know. Occasionally, I think if he can adjust his game to play the situations slightly more, I think that’s something you’ll see him work on. But he’s been in great spirits again. No concerns about Rishabh, and I can’t wait to see him play again.”

While critics point out that a one-off Test with such an abrupt format transition is a volatile recipe, the Indian dressing room refuses to look for excuses.

“I don’t think good or bad is worth reflecting on, it’s certainly a challenge. But you know, like I said before, I’ve never seen an Indian cricketer bemoan or sort of defer, or not take head-on what they are required to do. It’s not ideal, it’s a good test of mental ability and also technical and tactical ability. Just another challenge on the road, and the guys will take it on like they always do.”

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