India is likely to play Sai Sudarshan and drop Karun Nair for the crucial fourth Test at Manchester. This is the second time in the series that India have changed their No. 3. In the opening game at Leeds, Sudarshan played one-drop while Nair batted down in the order. For the second and third Tests, Sudarshan sat out and Nair played No.3. Now it seems it is back to Sudarshan with Nair unlikely to make the cut.
The two other changes in the Manchester Test playing XI have been forced upon the team management because of injuries. In all likelihood, Akash Deep’s place will be taken by the Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj and Nitish Reddy’s replacement will be Shardul Thakur.
This means India, like at Lord’s and Birmingham, will go with six bowling options. Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Shardul being the all-rounder, and the three specialist pacers being Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Kamboj.
Meanwhile, at the Old Trafford ground on match eve, Sudarshan showed signs that he was returning to the playing XI. Despite the cover on the pitch, the Tamil Nadu batsman did his visualisation drill. He even circled the 22 yards and closely observed the greenish-brown surface.
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Sudarshan, in the only Test he has played, made 0 and 30 and was dropped because of the team management’s combination calculations. The left-hander lost his place to spin-all-rounder Washington Sundar.
Nair, promoted up the order in Sudarshan’s absence, has the following scoring sequence on this tour – 0, 20, 31, 26, 40, and 14.
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Actually, the Indian captain Shubman Gill had hinted that India might persist with Karun for the Manchester game. “We think Karun is batting well. The first match he didn’t really play at his number (batted at 6). It’s difficult when a player is making a comeback in a series like this, you know. But I don’t think there’s been any issue with his batting. Sometimes it’s also about getting that click, you know. Once you’re able to make your 50, then you’re able to get back into your zone and get some big runs. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened for him so far,” he said.
Did the captain have a rethink after watching the pitch, which he did much after his press conference? Was this decision taken with the consideration that this was a virtual must-win game and to take those mandatory 20 wickets, India would need an extra bowler?
Shubman, at the press conference around the noon time, said the pitch would have bounce and speed. Ravi Shastri, on a podcast, said, “This pitch will have more bounce than others from what one’s heard. If the weather is not that hot…”.
But the local input was very different. Veteran English international and TV expert David Bumble Lloyd downrightly dismissed the ‘lively pitch’ narrative. Lloyd would say: “Very, very flat. No pace, no grass.” On the same podcast, former England captain Michael Vaughan would give his take. “The pace has gone since Old Trafford… (changed the axis).”
