Team India would be worried lot going into the fourth Test of the series, after all, they’re set to play in Manchester, the best place for fast bowlers in England. They visitors are 2-1 down in the series already, and once again, they will have selection headache before this particular clash too.
Forget batting, it will be a tough call to decide the bowling line up, whether they want to go with three pacers along with Nitish Kumar Reddy and two spinners, or four pacers + NKR and a spinner. That will be the big call to take. And before reaching a conclusion, they will have to bring into consideration certain factors.
Workload Management of Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj is a workhorse for Team India. In 3 matches, he has picked up 13 wickets, and more importantly, bowled 109 overs. Jasprit Bumrah has bowled 86. The latter will play only one more match in the series, and Siraj could just be drained out. So, should both of them play in the next match. Perhaps yes, given the situation of the series… Shubman Gill needs his two best bowlers to stay alive in the series. So, Bumrah and Siraj stay.
Arshdeep Singh in Fray
Perhaps it is time to include Arshdeep Singh as well. Mostly, India has hit-the-deck bowlers, and the left-hander could add a bit of variety into the attack. His inclusion would also mean, he could come in, when the likes of Bumrah and Siraj get tired. So, he warrants an inclusion.
Tough Call Between Washington Sundar & Nitish Kumar Reddy
As has been the case with coach Gautam Gambhir, he likes to play with a extra batters/all-rounders. But given India will want to go with extra pace options, the confusion prevails. Having Washi and NKR meant, India could bat deep till no. 8, but that won’t be possible, if any of the two all-rounders has to go out. If at all, just to maintain balance it would be NKR. But then again, to get the cushion of the batter + bowler, both NKR and Washi should be retained.
Ideal bowling line-up for 4th Test: Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.
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