India will be locking horns with England for the third Test which is slated to be played from 15th February. This contest will be of imperative significance to the Indian team considering the fact that a victory is obviously the need of the hour. Anything less than that and the sword will be coming down heavily upon Dravid and company.
With that being said, there are words floating around that Jasprit Bumrah may be rested while Virat Kohli will be coming back to the side. The inclusion of VK will certainly be a major boost for the Indian batters while that will also enrich the side with experience against the wily likes of the English bowlers. However, when Virat comes in, who should be the ones facing the axe? With so many questions deluging the horizon, here is what we feel that the Indian batting line-up should look like for the third Test.
Openers – Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal
Rohit may not have produced the finest of results in the ongoing series but his presence in the team means an alarm call for the opposition always. He is an excellent player of spin and being the captain of the side, he will always be a major name in the batting ranks.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been a fearless force up front for the Indian cricket team and his attendance in the echelons means that the bowlers with the new ball will be caught in two minds whether to ask him to drive or would they like to go defensive, just in case, Jaiswal comes knocking in his scariest avatars.
Middle-Order – Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Axar Patel, Sarfaraz Khan
Shubman Gill will obviously be the hot favourite after that match-winning century at Vizag. He is back in strokes and has been pretty dominant in the way he has called the shots. More importantly, he is someone who can concert the starts into bigger knocks, a major problem which has been ruling the roost for Indian cricket in this Test series.
Virat Kohli will be taking guard at number four and if he returns, that means this will be India’s best chance in the upcoming three matches to make life difficult for the newbie English bowlers. However, his inclusion still remains questionable and we will only know when the squad is announced that will the former Indian captain get to combat the English bowlers.
Cricketers to achieve ICC No.1 ranking in batting/bowling rankings across formats:
🇦🇺 Mathew Hayden
🇦🇺 Ricky Ponting
🇮🇳 Virat Kohli
🇮🇳 Jasprit Bumrah
End of the list. pic.twitter.com/qRnSNmLGOM— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) February 7, 2024
Rajat Patidar may have fallen short in the second innings but it goes without a saying, he showed enough grit and gumption in the first and will be hopeful of another brilliant showdown to make it a challenge like never before. He is someone who is blessed with a variety of shots and if he gets going the bowlers will have a tough time.
Axar Patel showed it again what makes him such a valuable all-rounder. Truth be told, if Jadeja fails to return, it is going to be Axar who should be taking up the mantle. He has a special knack for scoring those gritty 30s and 40s towards the tail-end of the innings while he can get you wickets too.
Sarfaraz Khan may be an occasional wicket-keeper but in case if Rahul fails to return to the side, with the form of Bharat only returning dwindling figures, Sarfaraz Khan may be a good experiment. His aggressive batting will add a different dimension to the Indian batting ranks.
