IND vs SL: ‘Don’t think it's a massive concern for us' — Morne Morkel on possibility of India playing three spinners

India's pace attack will have a depleted look when they take on Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series, with the first Test starting on 15 August. Premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah will miss the series due to an injury, and so will Harshit Rana.

Mohammed Shami, who has endured injury and fitness concerns, hasn't played a Test since June 2023, when India faced Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

In Bumrah's absence, the onus will be on Mohammed Siraj, who is the experienced pacer among the rest of the pacers with 140 wickets from 46 Tests. Apart from Siraj, there is Prasidh Krishna, who has only played seven matches.

Then there's the duo of Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi, both of whom are yet to make their Test debuts.

Morne Morkel confident about pacers coming good

India bowling coach Morne Morkel, however, isn't worried much about the absence of key players. “I think it’s exciting. All these guys have come a long way with their skill. Not so long ago in the A side, Gurnoor (Brar) was very successful, so he knows, sort of, he’s got an idea about the conditions.

"Prasidh, Siraj, they’ve played a lot of cricket back home, where it’s also tough bowling conditions,” the former South Africa cricketer told journalists in Sri Lanka on Thursday.

“I think coming here, our skill is there, the planning will be there, but the biggest challenge will be the heat and humidity. The ball will go softer after 20-35 overs. Expect that.

"But what is our next step? To be street-smart in terms of how we’re going to use the crease, how we’re going to use our short ball. All those conditions and all those sort of situations we need to be able to sum up quite quickly. And then execute it with a lot of energy and go into those areas,” added Morkel.

India also have depth in their spin bowling department, with Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain all among the options. Morkel said that it will be difficult to overlook Kuldeep Yadav, but added that the rest of the spinners also bring a lot to the table in their own way.

Kuldeep registered figures of 2/76 in the practice match against Sri Lanka XI last week. He is also coming on the back of a good outing with Yorkshire in the One Day Cup in England, having taken nine wickets from five matches.

“Kuldeep is there. He’s an attacking sort of bowler for us. Jadeja, his experience and class, we can’t look past him. I think for us, they’re all different in their way. One turns a bit more; one is slightly more accurate.

"I don’t think it’s a massive concern for us (on the possibility of playing three spinners). It’s just how Shubman (Gill) is going to use those guys at certain times. But yeah, in terms of skill, they’ve got the skill there to get the 20 wickets for us," the 41-year-old said.

“Traditionally, if you look at the venue, the stats and how it’s been played out, that’s sort of the way to go (playing three spinners). I think the way that we go with our spin bowling attack, our spinners, it’s a very attacking option.

"You can create pressure with seam from one side and always allow yourself with spin to operate from the other end. It looked like a good surface, and I think as the Test match will go on, something will start to happen. For us, we’ve prepared basically for all that can come our way,” he explained.