Kuldeep Yadav in contention as Indian squad for England Tests to be announced today
Leeds: Team India is set to announce their Test squad for the five-match series against England on Wednesday and a lot of questions remained to be answered. Virat Kohli’s Men in Blue kicked-off their UK tour with a triumphant win over the hosts in the T20I series before narrowly missing out on the ODI series in the decider. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors will ponder over a few points before releasing the 18-man squad.
Surprise call awaiting for Kuldeep Yadav?
Kuldeep Yadav has caused all sort of headaches for the England batsman and the results speak for themselves. The young chinaman has claimed 14 wickets so far in the T20I and ODI series combined, making a strong call for his Test selection. Skipper Kohli previously said that Kuldeep’s stunning ODI form tempted him to consider the left-arm spinner for the Test squad and it remains to be seen who missed out if Kuldeep is roped in.
Will Rohit Sharma solve India’s middle order woes?
Despite his heroics in the white-ball format, Rohit Sharma has failed to hit top gear when it comes to the longest format. During the tour of 2017-18 South Africa, the management picked him over the likes of Ajinkya Rahane but the Mumbai batsman failed to justify his selection, scoring just 78 runs in four innings.
After reportedly failing the Yo-Yo test during the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), India A skipper Karun Nair made way for Rohit in the one-off historic Test against Afghanistan. But given his form so far in limited-over series – two tons and a half-century – Rohit has already given selectors an additional headache.
Wicket-keeper conundrum
With Wriddhiman Saha likely to miss the initial stages of the Test series due to a thumb injury, Dinesh Karthik is probably set to take over. But if injury issues still pertain with Saha, selectors will have to search for another reserve keeper. Parthiv Patel’s impressive run in the Ranji Trophy, leading Gujarat to the title saw him making a comeback into the national team after 8 years. However, just like Rohit, the 33-year-old failed to leave an impression. So could it be the time to call Rishabh Pant? Pant may be short of experience but his recent form is not to be ignored. After a tremendous IPL, the flamboyant keeper-batsman has dazzled in the India A team currently touring England. His adaptation to the conditions so far could also be a key in his favour.
The five-match series commences on August 1 at Edgbaston with the Oval set to be the final stop dated September 7.
