“On a turning track, Rohit Sharma knows that India's batsmen will also struggle” - Mohammad Kaif

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif reckons that India have been compelled to have an extended batting line-up for the Test series against England due to their awareness that their own players struggle on turning tracks.

India went down to England by 28 runs in the first Test in Hyderabad. Set to chase a target of 231, they were bowled for 202 in their second innings as debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley claimed 7/62. The hosts went into the first Test with Axar Patel as the third spinner ahead of Kuldeep Yadav due to the former’s batting prowess.

India’s batting, however, will have a weakened look for the second Test, which starts on February 2 in Visakhapatnam. While Virat Kohli had pulled out of the first two Tests ahead of the series, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been ruled out of the Visakhapatnam Test due to injury. Sarfaraz Khan, Saurabh Kumar and Washington Sundar have been added as replacements.

In an interview with Timesofindia.com, Kaif analyzed the combination India could go with for the next Test. He opined that while the hosts will look to have a long batting line-up, there is a possibility of Kuldeep coming into the picture.

“India's main plan is that they should have players who can bat till at least No. 9. When you play on a turning track, even Rohit Sharma knows that India's batsmen will also struggle, so he wants assurance and security in the batting. The team that played in the last Test was the best playing XI. There were 5 proper bowlers, and batting till No. 9,” Kaif said.

“But in the next match it will be difficult to fill in the void created by Jadeja's absence, so Washington Sundar can also be considered because if Kuldeep Yadav plays then the batting will only be till No. 8. But I think because Kuldeep is already there in the squad, he will get the nod ahead of Sundar,” he went on to add.

While Axar contributed 44 runs with the bat in the first innings of the Hyderabad Test, the left-arm spinner did not make much of an impact with the ball, claiming only three wickets.

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What is Team India’s Test record in Visakhapatnam?

India have played two Test matches at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, winning both of them.

They hammered England by 246 runs in their first Test at the venue in November 2016. The hosts then beat South Africa by 203 runs in October 2019.