If the Indian teams were to be picked on their current form, there are a few players who shouldn’t be there at all. Batting has emerged as a major problem for the team, in their last two losses — in Centurion against South Africa, and now versus England in Hyderabad.
Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have emerged as the two weak links in the Indian batting unit for now, with the former failing to score a fifty-plus score in his last 11 innings. As for Iyer, his last fifty-plus score came only in December 2022, 87 against Bangladesh.
So there is no way the Indian management should be persisting with the duo in the middle order. In fact, the role of wicket-keeper KS Bharat should also be brought under the scanner, since in the 10 Test innings he has played, he hasn’t made any significant contribution with the bat, barring his highest score of 44.
Possible Replacements
India, in their ranks, have added Sarfaraz Khan, who has been scoring heavily in the domestic circuit. With KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja ruled out due to injuries, his place in the playing XI, in the second Test at Vizag, becomes imperative. Then we have two more keepers in the team, Dhruv Jurel and Rajat Patidar, who have averages of over 45 in domestic cricket and are in the team as well.
So if two Indian batsmen are struggling, and the other two are injured, why can’t the duo be given a chance as well? It’s not like, Bharat is offering something great with the bat either. Jurel, on the other hand, scored 69 against South Africa A, 63 vs Kerala in the Ranji Trophy, and 50 vs England Lions in his last red-ball match.
Similarly, Patidar has been impressive as well, with two tons, 111 & 151 vs England Lions this month.
India Reluctant to Play More than One Keeper
It has been a trend with the Indian teams, that they usually play only one keeper in Tests, even if there’s another available with superior batting skills. England, on the other hand, has time and again played more than one keeper-batsman in their team. Jonny Bairstow-Jos Buttler played together at a time, and now it’s Bairstow-Ben Foakes and Ollie Pope.
So India needs to be a little brave in their team selection and reward the youngsters will Test berths. Even if they persist with Bharat for the second Test, Gill and Iyer should certainly go, and make way for Sarfaraz and Patidar.
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