India’s Predicted XI For 4th Test vs England In Ranchi: Rohit Sharma’s Team India have bounced back brilliantly after the loss in Hyderabad to secure wins in Vizag and Rajkot. The Rajkot win, by a huge margin of 434 runs, was the biggest for India, in terms of runs, and the second-biggest defeat for England in their Test history.
India, though, will field a weakened bowling attack in the fourth Test in Ranchi, which will get underway on Friday. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is rested after taking a huge workload in the first three Tests. Bumrah bowled 80.5 overs in the first three Tests, taking 17 wickets at an average of 13.64.
There had been reports of Bumrah being rested from the Rajkot Test, but with the series then being leveled at 1-1, his inclusion was imperative. Mukesh Kumar, who recently picked a 10-wicket match haul for Bengal, has been re-added to the squad.
Also, India will continue to miss KL Rahul. Rahul featured in the first Test in Hyderabad but missed the next two Tests due to a quadriceps injury. He is also uncertain about playing in the fifth Test, in Dharamsala.
India have a couple of decisions to make regarding their playing XI in Ranchi.
Do they give Devdutt Padikkal a debut and drop Rajat Patidar, who has managed only 46 runs in two Tests, or give Patidar one more Test; Patidar looked assured on his debut in Vizag, and got out to soft dismissals in two of his four innings. We believe Patidar would get another game.
The other conundrum is about the bowling combination. Do India include Axar Patel, whose batting has been crucial in the lower-order, to replace Bumrah, or do they give Mukesh Kumar another go after he was expensive in Vizag? Or Akash Deep, who took 11 wickets in two matches against England Lions earlier, gets to make his debut?
This decision is likely to depend on the pitch. If the surface is dry, turner, then Axar Patel slots in straightaway. If the pitch is good, like it was in Rajkot, then one of the two Bengal seamers would come in.
India’s Predicted XI For 4th Test vs England In Ranchi:
- Rohit Sharma (C)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Shubman Gill
- Rajat Patidar
- Sarfaraz Khan
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Dhruv Jurel (wk)
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Axar Patel/Mukesh Kumar/Akash Deep
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Siraj
England, meanwhile, are very likely to rest both Mark Wood and James Anderson after the two bowled a significant amount of overs in Rajkot. Shoaib Bashir and Ollie Robinson are expected to come in. Also, head coach Brendon McCullum has thrown his weight behind Jonny Bairstow, who is averaging only 17 in this series.
India squad for the 4th Test against England:
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mukesh Kumar, Axar Patel, KS Bharat (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
