"England fans should hold their horses" - Steve Harmison warns against taking India lightly despite injury troubles

Former England seamer Steve Harmison has warned Ben Stokes and Co. against getting complacent in the Test series in India despite the hosts losing a few first-choice players due to injuries. The former Durham player reckons the replacements are fired up and have been in good form ahead of the second Test.

While Virat Kohli has opted out of the first two Tests of the series for personal reasons, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja played the opening game but will miss the second due to injuries.

As a result, the selectors have called up Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar as India look to level the series in Vishakhapatnam. Speaking to TalkSport, Harmison said that England should not get carried away despite India missing a host of big names.

"They are bringing in players who played against the England Lions over these last two weeks in two four-day Test matches and are bang in form.

"As much as the big names are gone, England fans should hold their horses. They are not only in form but are also hungry to perform in the Test arena."

While Sarfaraz and Saurabh are uncapped, Washington Sundar's last Test was against England in March 2021. Sundar memorably scored 96 and dismissed Ben Stokes in the first dig as India completed an innings win.

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"He is the calming influence" - Steve Harmison on KL Rahul

Steve Harmison

Harmison said that India will miss Rahul's services as a batter the most, given how well he did in Hyderabad and highlighted Jadeja's example, elaborating:

"It’s huge for India, 1-0 down with one of the icons of the game (Kohli) missing the first two Test matches and then to lose KL Rahul, he is the calming influence. He was very very calm the way he batted in that Test match, when all things were carnage around him.

"With Jadeja, if I was picking a team around the world to play on any surface, anywhere around the world, my first pick would be Jadeja. He’s an unbelievable talent who can bat, bowl and field."

Should India lose the next Test in Vishakhapatnam, it will be the first time they would lose two games in a home series since 2012.