England vs India, 5th Test: 3 Possible Changes for Oval Test

After a brilliant performance in the 3^rd Test at Trent Bridge it Nottingham, India came back to familiar waters in overseas conditions as they surrendered a 60 runs defeat to England in the 4^th test at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. Courtesy their defeat India has also dashed their dreams of winning a Test series in England for the first time since 2007. It has been the batsmen who have been brought India’s downfall in the series so far.

Ravichandran Ashwin could have bowled better in the 4^th Test. However, the pacers were quite spectacular and bagged 20 wickets for yet another time in the series. You don’t often see the Indian bowlers getting 80 wickets in 4 tests in overseas conditions. However, the batsmen haven’t given them enough runs to play with.

KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan have been short of runs at the top of the order. There are question marks over Hardik Pandya’s Test future. Ashwin’s ordinary performance in a pitch which had so much for the spinners was pretty strange. He tried too many deliveries and didn’t stick to the basics. Hence he was nowhere close to his counterpart Moeen Ali.

The 4^th Test is slated to begin in 3 day’s time and the team management might surely want to give some of the young players a chance in the final and dead rubber. If I was the captain I would have definitely made three to four changes.

Now without wasting any time let us have a look at 3 players who might be replaced in the 5^th Test

Prithvi Shaw in place of KL Rahul

Shaw has a terrific record in his brief first-class career and has already proved why he is rated so highly in the domestic circuit. He has a flair about his batting which was quite evident in the IPL when he played for the Delhi Daredevils. However, playing in English conditions will be a different challenge altogether. But he must be confident of the fact that he has got some prior exposure of playing in English conditions.

He scored a century in the tour of England with the India A side. On the other hand, KL Rahul has looked good in patches but has not been able to convert his starts into big ones. It is high time that he is given a timely reminder that his place is up for grabs. If Prithvi does get a chance in the next game, it will be pretty exciting to see the 18-year-old.

Ravindra Jadeja in place of Ravichandran Ashwin

Jadeja has warmed the benches throughout the series and it has come as a major surprise. In England, the rough patches tend to help the spinners a lot and Jadeja is a type of a bowler who can land the ball on the same area for a long period of time. He would have made a huge difference in the 4^th Test especially due to the patches created by the fast bowlers.

Ashwin was pretty ordinary and lacked the vigour. He didn’t give the ball a rip which was so prominent in the opening Test in Edgbaston. There is no doubt Ashwin is a world-class spinner. However, he might be fatigued and the injury sustained in the 3^rd Test might have had a bearing on his performance in the 4^th Test. So I will definitely prefer Jaddu for the 5^th and the final Test.

Hanuma Vihari in place of Hardik Pandya

Vihari is an experienced campaigner in the domestic circuit and boasts of a brilliant record there. He has been with India A squad for a considerable amount of time and has spent quality time with coach Rahul Dravid. He is a solid batsman in the middle order and can also chip in with some handy off breaks. Vihari has been consistently among the runs for India A and Hyderabad.

He boasts of a sensational record in first-class cricket averaging nearly 60 after 63 matches. Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, has been quite indifferent in the series so far. Hence he needs to get a reminder that his spot in the team is also up for grabs.