- By Ankit Bisht
- Tue, 30 Jan 2024 07:16 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
After going down 0-1 in the five-match series, India suffered a double blow as respective injuries ruled out KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja from the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, slated to begin on February 2.
Rahul complained of pain in his right quadriceps while Jadeja suffered a hamstring strain during the second innings in the Hyderabad Test. The duo performed well in the first innings of the series opener before India's batting collapse led to the 28-run loss on the fourth day of the match.
With Virat Kohli, who pulled out of the first two matches, also not available for the second Test, Rohit Sharma-led India are facing a selection conundrum for the Vizag Test. Meanwhile, BCCI added Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar to India's squad after injuries to the experienced duo.
Kuldeep Yadav will fill Jadeja's place while Rajat Patidar will come in as Rahul's replacement in the playing 11. Sarfaraz still has to wait to make his much-awaited Test debut despite his consistency in the first-class.
If India shift to four spinners then Mohammed Siraj will be left out to make way for Kuldeep with Sundar being the fourth spin-bowling option alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel.
Left-arm spinner Sourabh Kumar will also be in the race for the fourth spinner role who also provides batting depth in the side at the back of his first-class centuries.
On the batting-friendly Vizag surface that staged two Tests so far, the role of batting all-rounders will play a key role in the final innings of the match.
Former selector Sarandeep Singh, during whose tenure Washington made his debut Down Under, said the all-rounder is a utility player but he would not want to tinker too much with the playing eleven.
"It is pretty simple for me. Rajat Patidar comes in for Rahul and Kuldeep comes in for Jadeja. We don't need to copy England and play four spinners. Playing with two pacers and three spinners has been our strength at home. We need to stick to it," said the former India spinner.
However, he reckons it would be better for the team's cause if Rohit drops himself to number 3 and an under-fire Shubman Gill opens the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Gill, who himself had expressed the desire to play at three, has not been able to replicate his white ball form in the traditional format after having taken veteran Cheteshwar Pujara's place in the top-order.
"Gill is not a number three player. He should open. Rohit is one of the best players of spin and can drop down to accommodate Gill at the top," Sarandeep added.
(With PTI inputs)