Ever since the third Test at Lord’s got over, there was a lot of noise that Karun Nair will be axed from the playing XI, and Sai Sudharsan will make a comeback into the team, for the 4th Test. Even the practice sessions indicated the same. But that might not be fully true, after all. Skipper Shubman Gill dropped a subtle hint, that, that might not be end of the road for the right-hander.
Karun Nair in or out?
Shubman Gill said, “He didn’t bat at his number in the first game and we have had conversations with him, and he will turn it around.” That statement signals, that Nair might just get one more chance. On the other hand, Gill also confirmed that Rishabh Pant is fully fit, and will keep wickets as well.
What remains to be seen is, if Team India goes for an extra batter, or an extra bowler. There are also indications that the management could play Shardul Thakur again, in place of injured Nitish Kumar Reddy. Meanwhile, Anshul Kamboj is almost certain to make his India debut, while Akash Deep is ruled out.
Manchester Test to see new bowling attack
“Akash Deep is unavailable, so is Arshdeep but we have good players in the team to pick twenty wickets. It is not ideal to have different bowlers but I was prepared. He (Kamboj) is very close to making debut. We will see between Prasidh and Anshul tomorrow.”
One of the bigger suspense left is, if the team would persist with two spinners, given the pitch at Manchester would be a tricky one. For a change, batting could be a difficult affair at Old Trafford.
