(Cricket news) India registered one of most enthralling victories in cricket history at Lord's. The Indians turned it around on day 5 to take a 1-0 lead in the Pataudi Trophy. India's formula of 4 seamers and Ravindra Jadeja as the spin bowling all-rounder has been the perfect balance for the team.
Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj have played both the matches. Shardul Thakur played the first game due to his ability with the bat and Ishant Sharma's injury. Thakur got injured before the 2nd Test but Ishant recovered and took his place. Amidst all this, Ravichandran Ashwin who is arguably the best spinner in the world hasn't got a place.
Now the selection woes deepens because Shardul Thakur has recovered. Thakur's ability with the bat to go with his excellent performance in the 1st Test may just be enough to get him back in the team instead of Ishant Sharma. At the same time Ishant, Shami and Bumrah have managed to make valuable contributions with the bat. Jasprit Bumrah is India's lead bowler and unless there is a fitness issue Bumrah will play in every game.
Mohammed Siraj has made himself undroppable with his performance in the 2 Tests. Ravindra Jadeja has failed to take a wicket in this series so far but he did score a fifty in the first Test. If Jadeja is sacrificed to play Ashwin as a specialist spinner then India will surely lose runs with the willow. Having said that, Virat Kohli has been pretty vocal about prioritising taking 20 wickets even if it means scoring less runs.
Ashwin's selection massively comes down to the pitch and weather conditions. If there is a heat wave and a dusty pitch in Leeds then playing both Ashwin and Jadeja is certainly a big possibility. The 5 pacers India has played in this series so far have all done a fine job while the 6th option Umesh Yadav doesn't even get a mention.
As far as batsmen are concerned the order remained unchanged for the first 2 Tests. The opening partnership has been very crucial for India therefore Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are definitely going to keep their place. The big concern is India's middle order who haven't been in the best of forms for the past couple of years. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane answered the critics with a 100 run partnership which eventually won the game for India. The only player truly short of runs is the captain himself. Given Virat Kohli's record in England and indeed in cricket, dropping him isn't even remotely likely. Rishabh Pant has certainly earned his dues to be the team's undisputed first choice wicket keeper.
Mayank Agarwal who was supposed to be opening in the first Test got hit in the head and suffered concussion. KL Rahul's brilliance has made it difficult for Agarwal to reclaim his spot. A lot of the selection depends on the conditions as always but it is almost certain India will play with 5 bowling options. The likelihood is that India go into the 3rd Test match with at the most one change.
