India Cricket Team will jet off on Tuesday to Ranchi with the confidence of bouncing back after loss in Hyderabad. And as things stand, the pressure is back on England after India’s crushing victory in IND vs ENG Rajkot Test. However, that does not mean there is no selection headache for coach Rahul Dravid & captain Rohit Sharma.
Who replaces Jasprit Bumrah?
Who goes out for KL Rahul?
Four spinners or two seamers?
Who replaces Jasprit Bumrah vs England?
The biggest headache is absence of Jasprit Bumrah. The leading wicket-taker of IND vs ENG Test series is all set to miss the Ranchi Test as per BCCI’s workload management scheme.
Ranchi will offer a traditional feel of Test match in India. Initially, there will be some assistance for seamers while batters will get runs and spinners will have a role to play.
Hence, missing Jasprit Bumrah could allow England to come back. But who comes in his place?
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India have two options on the bench Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar from Bengal. While Mukesh has had lukewarm start to his Test career, Akash Deep is waiting for his chance.
But given India need experience to partner Mohd Siraj, Mukesh Kumar looks to be the one to play in IND vs ENG Ranchi Test.
Who goes out for KL Rahul?
Another puzzle is KL Rahul. The Karnataka batter is back after injury and he is all set to feature in the IND vs ENG Ranchi Test. But who goes out?
Sarfaraz Khan has impressed on his debut scoring two half-centuries while Dhruv Jurel too scored a gritty 46. However, the axe is likely to fall on Rajat Patidar who failed to impress, scoring 32, 9, 5 & 9 in four innings.
Hence, it’s a direct swap between KL Rahul and Rajat Patidar. And with KL Rahul batting at No 5, Sarfaraz Khan is expected to get promoted to No 4.
4 spinners or 2 seamers
Another puzzle is the bowling combination. While India did not need to bat too deep in Rajkot in the 2nd innings, the hosts could have definitely stretched the total. And that’s where Axar Patel plays a massive role. He had to sit out with Kuldeep Yadav getting the nod as Ravindra Jadeja returned.
Now, the pitch will dictate if India need to go with 2 seamers or Axar Patel can come back in. If he does, he will replace Bumrah with Sirja being the lone seamer.
India squad for 4th Test
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, KL Rahul
