India Test captain Shubman Gill on Wednesday indicated that the team is moving away from its preference for rank turners in home games and would be looking to play on tracks that "offer assistance to both batters and bowlers".
In a press conference on the eve of the Test series against West Indies here, Gill said the team might be tempted to field a third seamer in the series opener with the venue sporting a green-top surface amid hot and humid conditions.
"I can't really speak about what were the conversations before I came (in as captain), but yes we would be looking to play on wickets that offer (help) to both the batsmen and to the bowlers," Gill said.
"But having said that, I think any challenge for any team that comes to India, they know that the challenge is going to be spin and reverse swing. Keeping these challenges in mind, we would be looking to play on wickets that offer both to the batsmen and to the bowlers.
"You will get to know the combination tomorrow (Thursday). Given how the weather and conditions are, we are tempted to have a third seaming option but we will take a call tomorrow," he added.
Gill said India will be looking to play “hard and grinding cricket” at home.
“We are looking to play some hard grinding cricket and then over the past few years if you see, the Test matches in India don't really go (on) up to five days, so what we are really looking to do is to play some good, hard cricket,” he said.
“What people can expect from us is good hard grinding cricket and we wouldn't be looking for any easy out options and we have got the skill set to be able to play on any kind of wicket or any situation.”
The skipper also acknowledged that some of the players, including him, got very little time to switch gears after a gruelling but title-winning Asia Cup T20 campaign that ended on Sunday in Dubai.
“We had a couple of days of practice before the Test match, so yes it was a quick turnaround. I was just sort of looking to work on defence and trying to get in the zone. Switching formats is more mental than it is about technique, that's what I believe in, so I was just trying to work on getting into my zone,” he said.
However, Gill, who amassed 754 runs in five Tests against England, admitted that playing Test cricket after a stint in the shortest format is the toughest.
“When you are going from the shortest (format) to longest is probably the hardest. When you go from T20 to one-day and then Tests, it's probably easier than going from Test to T20s or T20s to Test,” he said.
“I just try to get in the zone. That zone is nothing just watching the ball well for me and to be able to decide the areas for me as a batsman, which areas am I going to defend and which areas am I going to attack.
“(It’s about) just identifying those areas and then the mental side comes in (as to) how much control and how much patience does one have to be able to stick to that process,” Gill added.
Gill and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah are among the players who joined the squad here after returning from Dubai.
On whether Bumrah would be used sparingly to manage his workload, Gill said, "We are going to take a call from match-to-match basis depending on how long a Test match goes and how much overs do our fast bowlers bowl. Nothing is pre-decided.
"We are going to take a call once the Test match is over and how our fast bowlers feel and how their bodies feel after the match.”
Gill said Jadeja will continue at No 6, praising the veteran all-rounder for his “tremendous” consistency in Tests.
“We always knew playing Jaddu bhai in India is always a difficult task. But the kind of form he has shown with the batting, that's the reason I think he has become our No 6 batter in Test matches,” he said.
“Over the past two years, he has been in tremendous form and he has got us out of situations where we were in a bit of difficulty and someone like him who has had so much experience under his belt and to be able to be so consistent at this level for such a long time is just tremendous."