India's predicted playing XI for the 4th Test vs England in Ranchi
Fresh off their thumping win in the third Test, India are all set to try and put the five-match series against England to bed in Ranchi. The fourth Test will commence on Friday, February 23.
The hosts have rested Jasprit Bumrah owing to the short turnaround time and have a relatively inexperienced squad in multiple departments, with KL Rahul still unfit. Nevertheless, they will be buoyed by how they dismantled the visitors in the second half of the third Test.
India's squad for the fourth Test vs England: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
Here is India's predicted playing XI for the fourth Test against England.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Yashasvi Jaiswal
Both Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are now among the runs. While the former smashed a century in the first innings of the third Test, the latter is by far the leading run-getter in the series. They will want to continue in the same vein.
Middle order: Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja
With Virat Kohli absent and KL Rahul still injured, India's middle order is expected to wear a similar look.
Rajat Patidar, whose Test career hasn't gotten off to the best possible start, could get another chance to make an impact. Devdutt Padikkal is another option on the bench, but India might want to back Patidar one last time.
Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel made a serious impact on debut and will certainly continue to feature, with Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja accompanying them in the middle order.
Lower order: Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
R Ashwin had to leave the third Test midway, but returned soon and is expected to feature in Ranchi. He has had an underwhelming series so far and could be on course for a big match haul.
Kuldeep Yadav has been excellent for India in both matches he has played thus far and also made some important batting contributions in Rajkot. He should be on the teamsheet for the fourth Test as well.
Without Bumrah, who has been rested, Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace attack. The fast bowler was impressive in the first innings of the third Test and will need to be at his best.
With regards to Bumrah's replacement, there are a few routes India could take. Playing an additional spinner - either Axar Patel or Washington Sundar - is an option, but an unlikely one as that would weaken an already sparse pace attack even further.
So the home side could either pick Mukesh Kumar, who did well for Bengal recently or hand a debut to Akash Deep. India's debutants have endured contrasting fortunes in the series so far, but the tide seems to be turning positively recently.
With Mukesh turning in a poor display in his only outing of the series, reports from certain quarters suggest that Akash Deep could be in line to replace Bumrah. It remains to be seen how the tall fast bowler fares if he does indeed feature.