Let’s talk about the Indian team selection for the 4th Test, at Manchester, once again. Why is it so important? A correct or a perfect XI can be a difference between a win or a loss.. and with the series locked at 2-1 in England’s favour, this is perhaps the most important clash of the entire series.
Instead of Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair Should be Retained
What adds to the importance is — Team India has a few tough calls to make, especially in their batting unit. Manchester could be the first tough wicket for the batters, in the series. And whether to draft in an extra batter, or a bowler — is the choice that Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill have to make.
Let’s assume that they want to pick an additional batter, so how should the Indian batting line up look like, in an ideal scenario? There have been a lot of noise about the removal of Karun Nair, and getting in Sai Sudharsan, but at this juncture, that might not be the best call to take. In six innings, he has scored 131 runs at average of 21, while Sai Su has scored 30 in the only Test he played.
Dhruv Jurel Could Strengthen Batting Order
So, Karun knows the conditions well by now, must be itching to get some runs under his belt, and would have a point to prove, in what could otherwise be his last series. It is a matter of now or never for him. Then, in the lowed-middle order, despite having Rishabh Pant as the keeper, India should seriously consider deploying Dhruv Jurel as a pure batter.
Against England Lions, he had returned with scores of 94, 53, 52 and 28. And his Test career has been decent too. In 4 Tests, he scored 202 runs at an average of 40.40. So, having him as the last batter, before Washington Sundar, might work wonders for the team, on a Manchester wicket, that could be tricky for batting.
Best batting line-up for IND in Manchester Test: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar.
