3 Changes India needs to make in its Playing XIs for the 2nd Test
As we all know, India faced a very close and disappointing loss to England at Edgbaston in the 1st Test match of the series. Although skipper Virat Kohli played a flamboyant innings of 149 runs, batting superbly with the tail after India were reduced to 217/9, the lack of support from other batsmen led to it going in vain and eventually, India's defeat. His heroics made the team score reach 274, just 13 runs short of England's first innings score of 287 and then the way the bowlers, especially Ishant Sharma bowled in the 2nd innings was outstanding.
However, there seemed to be some mismanagement on part of the captain and the team management when they decided to give Ashwin some time off the field. This was when England were reduced to about 90/7 and the young Sam Curran was batting. Being a left-handed batsman and someone who can bat (not a tailender), it was almost a no-brainer that the Indian off-spinner must have been persisted with. This resulted in two forty plus partnerships thereafter and the English posted a total of 180 runs while 100 was looking difficult at a point of time.
However, the main concern for India will be the form and shot selection of the batsmen. The way the top order and middle order of the Indian batting line-up failed in both the innings was appalling, to say the least. The very dependable Murali Vijay and the stylish KL Rahul failed to make a mark in either of the innings, one seemingly lacking confidence and another trying to play overconfident shots.
The number of problems India has to address at the moment is big and the immediate changes the side needs to make before the 2nd Test are:
#1 Pujara in place of Dhawan
Murali Vijay and KL Rahul have proven their worth over the years as technically sound and adaptable batsman, who can score runs at home as well as abroad, courtesy Murali Vijay's great records in Australia, South Africa, and England and KL Rahul's phenomenal records in West Indies and Australia.
Therefore, they both deserve to open in the swinging conditions of England, ahead of the poor overseas record holding Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan may have been the most attacking opener among the three but he has never proven to be as dangerous outside India or the subcontinent.
This series should have been his last opportunity to prove himself as a Test batsman and now that he has failed in both the innings, it could be the end of the road for him as far as Test cricket is concerned. Someone like Prithvi Shaw or Mayank Agarwal, with good domestic and overseas List A records could be given a go as the third opener of the side.
At number 3, it should be Cheteshwar Pujara, India's premier number 3 in the longer format of the game and his exclusion in the 1st Test itself raised several eyebrows. No matter how ordinary or poor his county stint may have been, Pujara has the numbers in South Africa, West Indies, and Australia. He has the temperament and technique to flourish as a Test cricketer and must be played on a regular basis.
