"Has to decide which are the formats he is going to try and excel in" - Sanjay Manjrekar's advice to Shreyas Iyer after being dropped from Test squad

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar has called for Shreyas Iyer to work on his defensive skills and prioritize his formats after being excluded from the Indian squad for the rest of the England Test series.

After an impressive start to his Test career with a debut century, the 29-year-old has struggled for form recently in the format. Iyer has not scored a half-century in his last 13 Test innings, managing only 104 runs at an average of 26 in the first two Tests of the ongoing series.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar stated Iyer must develop confidence in his defense and form his aggressive game as an extension of that.

"Iyer has to decide which are the formats he is going to try and excel in. If Tests continue to be his priority then he has got to work on his defensive game whether it's pace and bounce or spin. Develop a game where he is confident in defense and then when he takes the aggressive route it's an extension of the defensive play where he is trying to dominate and not escape pressure by playing a cocounter-attackingame," said Manjrekar [2:34].

Manjrekar also believed KL Rahul would replace a batter upon his return to the squad but wondered if India could be better served looking at other wicket-keeping options outside KS Bharat.

"Rahul definitely comes in for a batter. Have no idea how the team management and the selectors are thinking about the keeper. Before Rishabh Pant comes and takes his rightful place in the Test squad, would like to have a look at some of the other options India have," added Manjrekar [0:18].

Rahul missed the second Test with a quadriceps injury after scoring an excellent 86-run knock in the first innings of the opening Test.

Meanwhile, KS Bharat has been in woeful form with the bat, averaging only 23 in the four innings thus far in the series. With the team management ruling out the possibility of Rahul keeping wickets, India have only Dhruv Jurel as an option behind the stumps in the squad.

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"India might stick to two seam bowlers and a finger spinner making way" - Sanjay Manjrekar on bowling combination with Ravindra Jadeja's return

India v England - 1st Test Match: Day Three

Sanjay Manjrekar believes the presence of a reliable second seamer in Mohammed Siraj would likely make India go with the two seamers-three spinners option for the third Test at Rajkot.

With the return of Ravindra Jadeja from injury, the cricketer-turned-commentator felt Axar Patel might be the one to miss out on the playing XI.

"If Mohammed Siraj wasn't available as a second seamer, then it would have been easier for India to play four spinners and go the English way. But with Siraj available, and with the reverse swinging creating opportunities for wickets for the seamers, and with the way England have played the finger spinners, India might stick to two seam bowlers and a finger spinner making way," said Manjrekar [1:39].

"Which means Axar Patel as I don't see Kuldeep Yadav being left out after his impact in the last Test and him being the more difficult bowler to play unorthodox shots like reverse sweeps," he added [2:15].

Axar has picked up only five wickets in the two Tests, while Kuldeep Yadav immediately impressed in India's series-leveling win in the second Test with four crucial scalps.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj was rested for the second Test with fellow seamer Mukesh Kumar taking his place.