"I want Rohit to bat at No. 4" - Deep Dasgupta picks his Indian XI for 2nd Test vs England
Deep Dasgupta wants Rohit Sharma to bat at No. 4 for India in the second Test against England.
The second game of the five-match series will be played in Visakhapatnam from Friday, February 2. Rohit opened with Yashasvi Jaiswal in both innings in the hosts' 28-run loss in the first Test in Hyderabad.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Dasgupta opined that Rohit should bat in the middle order and that India should play a four-pronged spin attack. He said:
"I want Rohit (Sharma) to bat at No. 4. It is slightly out of the box and I will go in with four spinners, which will have both Washington (Sundar) and Kuldeep (Yadav). I will play one less seamer."
The former India wicketkeeper-batter reckons Shubman Gill should be Yashasvi Jaiswal's opening partner, with Rajat Patidar batting at No. 3. He elaborated:
"Now let me quickly go through the playing XI. If I get Shubman (Gill) and Yashasvi (Jaiswal) to open, (Rajat) Patidar plays at No. 3 because that is where he plays. Rohit plays at No. 4 and Shreyas (Iyer) at No. 5."
KL Rahul has been ruled out of the Visakhapatnam Test due to pain in his right quadriceps. The Indian team management will have to choose between Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan as his replacement if they stick with five specialist batters and want both Gill and Shreyas Iyer in the XI.
"You can keep a left-hander in Washington at No. 6" - Deep Dasgupta
![Washington Sundar was included in the Indian squad after Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out due to a hamstring injury. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/02/3fd57-17067694311987-1920.jpg?w=500)
Deep Dasgupta wants a southpaw in Washington Sundar at No. 6, considering that Axar Patel was promoted to No. 5 in the second innings of the first Test. He stated:
"You can keep a left-hander in Washington at No. 6 because it is important to have a left-hander, which we saw in the last match as well. So Washington at No. 6."
The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Jasprit Bumrah as the solitary seamer in his playing XI.
"(Ravichandran) Ashwin at No. 7, Kona (Bharat) at No. 8, Axar (Patel) at No. 9, Kuldeep at No. 10 and (Jasprit) Bumrah at No. 11. So Bumrah will be the only seamer."
Deep Dasgupta's Indian XI for the 2nd Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kona Bharat, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah