Home
Cricket
No Mohammed Shami, India should go with four pacers and two spinners in Headingley Test vs 1st England Test

No Mohammed Shami, India should go with four pacers and two spinners in Headingley Test vs 1st England Test

Mohammed Shami had last played a Test for India in 2023, which happened to the be WTC final vs Australia at The Oval.

Over-reliance on Jasprit Bumrah is what led to India’s 1-3 failure in the series Down Under. It seemed — with his 32 wickets in five matches, that he was the only bowler who picked up wickets at will. Truth be told, the nation wants him to fire once again, come the series vs England, but then the others need to play their part to. It just can’t be a one-man show. And for that, a well-rounded bowling attack is needed, keeping in mind the English conditions.

NO Mohammed Shami for 1st Test vs England

So, what should India’s bowling attack look like for the Headingley Test, a venue where the team has won two matches in the past, and is one of favoured grounds for us. Let us just start by saying, even though Mohammed Shami is a must in the squad, he should not be starting in the first match itself. He would be coming fresh from the IPL 2025, maybe practice match vs India A as well, and needs to be given some rest.

To add to that, he has been a bit wayward, where in 9 matches he could only bag six wickets, that too at an economy rate of 11.23. Then Bumrah is of course the first pick without any doubt. The man is fit now, and has played 45 Tests in his career, claiming 205 wickets.

Prasidh Krishna & Shardul Thakur to Assist Jasprit Bumrah

In his support will be Praisdh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj, as the other two pacers. Prasidh was impressive in Australia, and bagged six wickets in his only match there. Siraj too had picked up wickets, despite being expensive. He went on to bag 20 wickets in 5 encounters. Not to forget, Shardul Thakur makes the cut too.

In 4 Tests he has 10 wickets there, and has even scored two valuable fifties lower down the order. So he steps ahead of someone like Nitish Reddy, who though a better batter, doesn’t come close to Thakur in bowling prowess.

Jadeja & Washington as Two Spinners

As for the spinners, the two choices, without any doubt have to be Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. The duo not only bowl well, but bat well too. In the 12 matches in the country, he has 27 wickets to his name, and also 642 runs at an average of 29. On the other hand, Washi is yet to play in the nation, but can be quite useful there.

In his 9 Tests, he has he has 468 runs at an average of 42. And then 25 wickets means, he can fill the void for someone like R Ashwin. So, Bumrah, Shardul, Siraj, Prasidh, Washi, and Jaddu is what the Indian bowling lineup should look like for the 1st Test in Headingley.

Follow
Share

Editor's Pick

IND vs ENG 1st Test: New era, new problems! Can Shubman Gill & co put right foot forward? Cricket IND vs ENG 1st Test: New era, new problems! Can Shubman Gill & co put right foot forward?

Top Stories

Share article
Follow us on social media
Tell us why didn’t you like our article so that we can improve on?
Choose ranking:
ICC Test Ranking
ICC ODI Ranking
ICC T20I Ranking