Probable Indian Squad for the last 2 Tests against England

England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Five
England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Five

England 2-1 India. This is what the scoreline for the five-match series stands after three highly engrossing Test Matches.

The first Test Match at Edgbaston was stated as one of the best Test matches in years by many as India fell short of their target by just 31 runs! What a classic!

But, in the 2nd Test Match at Lord's, the Englishmen crushed the visitors as India lost the match by an innings and 159 runs. Low on morale, low on Form. The batting was in shambles and some major changes to the Playing XI were desperately required.

Cometh the third Test Match at Trent Bridge, the fans witnessed a totally different Indian side. Form-wise, as well as the playing XI. A perfectly scripted victory by a huge margin of 203 runs as all the departments shone brightly. The openers got off to great starts in both the innings, Pujara and Rahane getting valuable runs to find their form, Hardik Pandya's perfect all-round performance, a great debut for the young keeper Rishabh Pant, the pacers coming to their own to exploit the conditions on offer and Captain Kohli himself, scoring 200 runs in the match and bagging the MoM award, of course. What more could a team ask for?

The main question arises now. Whose name to lay on the squad list for the fourth and fifth Test matches? Situations like these can be very very tricky for the Captain and the selectors. Do they really need to bring up any changes when almost everyone from the squad has found form even after being 1-2 down in the series?

Does it even make sense to discard players after making them play three Test matches in away conditions and picking up from players available for selection back home who don't even have the experience of playing even a single Test abroad? Well, there can be many such points and questions to frame.


The Openers

England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Two
Shikhar Dhawan played well in the 3rd match.

The selectors might be tempted to bring in an extra opener, *just in case*. Back home, the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal have consistently dominated the bowlers in the domestic arena and are banging loudly on the doors of the selectors.

But it looks pretty early for Shaw and it's tough for Mayank to find a place with KL Rahul and Dhawan performing well in the third match and Murali Vijay, though out-of-form and sidelined, will probably retain his place owing to his pretty good overseas record.

The openers might be the same with minimal chances of Prithvi Shaw or Mayank Agarwal getting a call.

Middle Order

England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Three
Rahane found his form back.

One of India's biggest worry going into the third Match was the form of their vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. The classy Mumbai batter showed great resilience and scored an important 82 to find his form back. Cheteshwar Pujara was also once again among the runs as he piled up a half-century in the second innings.

With King Kohli ruling the series with his bat, the middle order players seem to remain unchanged.

Wicketkeepers

England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Two
A record-breaking debut for Pant.

Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant were called into the Indian Team owing to the injury of their first-choice keeper, Wriddhiman Saha. After horrible failures in the first two matches, veteran Karthik made way for the 20-year-old Rishabh Pant, who announced his entry with a fearless 6!

After giving a record-breaking performance with the gloves and looking stable with the bat, Pant is ensured of keeping his place in the squad as well as the Playing 11 for the next two matches.

No changes among the keepers.

Spinners and all-rounders

England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Four
England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Four

It was a perfect outing for the much-criticised fast-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya as he returned with figures of 5/29 and also a run-a-ball 52* in the second innings. He has done enough to cement his place for the next two matches.

Ashwin, even though not looking fully fit during the match, is probably not going anywhere with the next match being eight days away and enough time to recover. Jadeja and Kuldeep might break into the playing XI depending on the surface offered to the teams at The Rose Bowl for the fourth match.

The spinners will retain their places with no additions whatsoever.

Fast Bowlers.

England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Four
High-flying Bumrah picked up a 5-wicket haul

In the fast-bowling front, India's pacers have been amazing. Jasprit Bumrah made a booming comeback after a long injury and took a 5-fer in the fourth innings to close the match for India. Ishant pegging crucial wickets with his experience and Shami running in like a war-horse. Hardik Pandya also picked up his maiden 5-fer in the 1st innings to cement his place as the fast-bowling all-rounder for the next couple of matches.

As the return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar is already ruled out, Mumbai paceman Shardul Thakur, who came in as the cover for Jasprit Bumrah, might be left out. Umesh Yadav will retain his place.

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Edited by Vignesh Ananthasubramanian