Cricket

What Adjustments Will Rohit Sharma Make To Replace Rahul And Jadeja In Vizag Against England?

By - 31 Jan 2024 10:07 AM

India's selection dilemma is severe as they look to recover from a rare home loss to England in the second Test. Ravindra Jadeja and K L Rahul suffered untimely injuries. Before England turned the tables on the formidable hosts in the Hyderabad Test, Jadeja and Rahul were two of India's top performers in the first innings. During the Hyderabad Test, Jadeja hurt his hamstring going for a quick single, and Rahul reported having pain in his right quadriceps.

The home team's problems are exacerbated by the duo's unavailability; they were obviously taken aback by England's "Bazball" tactic.

With his outstanding all-around skills, Jadeja renders himself practically unreplaceable, and since recovering from surgery in September, Rahul has also emerged as one of India's most valuable hitters in both the ODI and Test formats.

Virat Kohli remains unavailable due to personal reasons and after a shock reverse in the series opener, the management will be missing him even more in Visakhapatnam where the second Test begins on Friday.With Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar, and Washington Sundar added to the squad, selectors have ample options for Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid to choose from.

Rajat Patidar, who was also among the 15 in Hyderabad, is an obvious choice. With Kuldeep Yadav replacing Jadeja as the third spinner behind R Ashwin and Axar Patel, he could replace Rahul in the middle order.

Another option for India is to play one pacer for four spin options, just like England did in the first game.In that scenario, Kuldeep could replace Mohammed Siraj, and the team could then include Sarfaraz Khan or Washington to strengthen the middle order.

Sourabh can be a dark horse in that race because he is a decent batsman with a couple of hundreds in first class cricket and bowls left-arm spin like Jadeja.

There have been two Test matches played at Visakhapatnam's ACA-VDCA Stadium to date, and the pitch is typically batting friendly, at least in the first innings.

When India batted first at this location back in 2019, they amassed 502 points in the opening innings against South Africa, with Mayank Agarwal recording a double hundred and Rohit putting up a quick 176 in his first-ever Test innings.Anil Kumble, a spin legend, believes wrist spinner Kuldeep's inclusion in the eleven will be beneficial.

"Having Kuldeep will definitely help if India feels that they only need one fast bowler. Although he will make some changes, England will visit and follow their Hyderabadi model "Kumble informed the host broadcaster.

"We anticipate a quicker pace than this, and this wicket could be a turning point. Even though it moved slowly, this was a good wicket if you put in the work. India's strategy for playing against spin needs to be adjusted for sure.Additionally, I thought that the way England approached their batting rattled them, and as a result, they had to devise some unusual plans. The spin trio was under pressure from England's constant sweeping approach, so he said, "They never tried any variations so that's something I am sure they will be looking to do."

Washington, a left-handed batsman who bowls off-spin with his right hand, also has a good case for selection after demonstrating a lot of promise during his four Test career.

He played in three games in the previous home series against England in 2021 after making his debut in the historic Test victory at the Gabba.During that series, Washington took two wickets in a match that was dominated by front-line spinners Ashwin and Axar, scoring 85 and 96 not out in five innings.

The all-rounder is a utility player, according to former selector Sarandeep Singh, who witnessed Washington make his Australian debut. However, Singh would rather not make many changes to the starting eleven.

For me, it's not too tough. Kuldeep takes the place of Jadeja, and Rajat Patidar replaces Rahul. Unlike England, we do not have to play four spinners. Our strongest point when playing at home has been using three spinners and two pacers. The former spinner for India stated, "We must adhere to it.