England vs India 2018: 4 players who should be dropped for the third Test

After a good start to the England tour with a 2-1 win over the hosts in the T20s, the visitors have lost the ODI series 2-1 and are now trailing 2-0 in the Test series.

Though the first Test match was a close encounter, courtesy of Virat Kohli's brilliance, the second one was a really poor one for the visitors because of pathetic batting display.

Joe Root has won the toss and asked the Indians to bat first. It was a poor top order batting from the Indians as they were reduced to 62 for 6 in 24.2 overs. They were eventually bowled out for 107 and also allowed England lower order to take them to 396/7d.

The second innings wasn't a much of a difference for the Indian team. Their top order once again failed and they were reduced to 61 for 6 in 30.4 overs. Though Ashwin and Pandya offered some resistance, the result was inevitable. India lost the game by an innings and 159 runs.

It was a dismal display by the India batting lineup and the team as a whole, barring a few. They certainly need a change in personnel for the third Test and some harsh decisions have to be taken.

On that note, let's take a look at the 4 players who should be Dropped for the third Test.

#4 Murali Vijay

Scores of 20,6,0,0 do not help the team, especially from an opening batsman. Started the series as India's no.1 opener, Murali Vijay has not done anything in the series to justify his inclusion.

He was poor in the first Test and dreadful in the second. He got out to a 'Pair' in the second Test and faced just 13 balls. He was never comfortable against the swinging ball and very tentative outside the off stump.

Vijay has not scored a fifty in his last five overseas Tests and has six single digits score in 10 innings. His confidence has hit rock bottom and he doesn't deserve to play the Third test based on his current form.

#3 Kuldeep Yadav

Seems harsh but it was never Kuldeep's mistake. The 23-year-old cannot be blamed for his performances in the second Test.

Though he troubled the English batsman throughout the limited-overs series, it was not a great decision from Virat Kohli to include him for the second Test. The condition at Lord's certainly helped the swing bowlers and India made a bizarre decision to include two spinners in the team.

Lack of a third genuine seamer from India has allowed England's middle and lower order to settle. Kuldeep Yadav bowled only nine overs in the game and went for 44 runs without troubling the English batsman. Umesh Yadav or Jasprit Bumrah will have to come for the third Test.

#2 Hardik Pandya

There is no denying the fact that he is the best all-rounder India has got at the moment. He was superb for India in ODIs and T20I's over the last 12 months. However, his Test match performances have been really poor.

Except for the 93 at Cape Town, Hardik Pandya never showed any sort of composure at the crease. He was careless and lacks the batting technique. He struggled against the swinging ball throughout the series and was not able to get his acts right. He wasn't great with the ball either.

India needs to bring in a genuine batsman for the third Test. Karun Nair is in the squad and should be given a chance. 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers seem the right combination for India.

#1 Dinesh Karthik

It has been a really awful series for Karthik so far with the bat. The Tamil Nadu batsman has three scores of either 0 or 1 in four innings in the Test series.

Wriddhiman Saha's injury paved way for Karthik's inclusion in the team and he failed to take his opportunity. He was twice dismissed for a duck in two Tests and never looked assured at the crease.

Like other Indian batsmen, Karthik struggled against the moving ball and his defense lacked conviction. He was bowled twice and dismissed LBW once. With Rishabh Pant in the team, Indian team management cannot keep persisting with Dinesh Karthik for a long time.