ENG vs IND: To Some Extent, They've Missed The Chance To Cement Their Place - Wasim Jaffer On Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer opined that the batting duo of Shubman Gill and Hanuma Vihari had a great opportunity to assure themselves of a place in the playing XI but have completely fumbled it.

While Gill had scores of 17 & 4 in the Edgbaston Test, Vihari got good starts and reached 20 & 11 but couldn’t carry on. They were given opportunities in the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.

Additionally, there are potential replacements lined up and Jaffer feels it will be hard to keep the likes of Suryakumar and Sarfaraz out of the team due to Gill and Vihari’s failures.

“(On whether Gill and Vihari missed out on the opportunity to cement their place) Yes. Because after this the main players like Rohit Sharma and Rahul will come back. Players like Sarfaraz Khan are knocking on the door and even Suryakumar Yadav is available. So yes to some extent (they have missed a chance),” Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo.

“To some extent, yes” – Wasim Jaffer on whether 400+ target can be chased

Jaffer feels that England will be heavily dependent on contributions from the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes, who had disappointing outings in the first innings.

“(On whether England can even chase 400 with Bairstow) To some extent yes, but I think it will be very difficult to depend on just one person. This is because even Root and Stokes are important batters in this team,” he also added.

Bairstow was the sole fighter in the first stint, with him bringing up his 11th Test hundred and third on the trot to ensure England moves past the follow-on total.

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