England vs India 2018: Probable Indian Playing XI for the Third Test
With India suffering back-to-back defeats against England, Virat Kohli's team selection has come under the scanner and it is high time that he rectifies the selection issues and comes up with the best possible eleven to put up a better show in the third Test in Nottingham.
The chopping and changing haven't helped India's cause as they would look to have a settled lineup for the next 3 Tests barring the welcome addition of Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (expected to be fit for the 4th Test).
India's Squad for the 3rd Test: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.
Let us take a look at the probable playing eleven for India for the third test beginning on Saturday.
Openers: Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay
This might raise a few eyebrows as Murali Vijay has consistently underperformed in this series. With scores of 20, 6, 0 and 0, Vijay has not done justice to his talent as an opener and his record in 2018 is quite horrible barring the Test against Afghanistan. But he has the technique and the solidity to succeed in overseas tours and the team management might be tempted to give him an extended run for the third Test. Vijay's experience would come in handy for India if he gets back to his own positive self.
The poor performance of both the openers means that Dhawan (with scores of 26 and 13) could just get the nod ahead of KL Rahul, who hasn't been in the best of form with scores of 4, 13, 8 and 10. This change provides a left-right combination for India at the top of the order. Dhawan and Vijay put on a fifty runs opening stand in the first Test and that adds value to Dhawan's inclusion. A confident Shikhar Dhawan and a solid Murali Vijay could well turn the fortunes for India.