IND vs SL: 3 Indian Players Who Might Be Rested In The 2nd Test

India led by Rohit Sharma are leading the IND vs SL Test series. They registered a thumping win over their opponents in the first Test by an innings and 222 runs. Ravindra Jadeja delivered a career-best performance in the second Test. He scored his career-best 175* with the bat and took nine wickets in with the ball to win the Man of the Match award.

The second Test which will be a day-night match in Bengaluru begins from March 12 onwards. The BCCI will allow 50 per cent of the crowd capacity to come into the stadium for the second Test.

The Indian squad has been announced earlier today for the second Test. Axar Patel has been included in the squad while Kuldeep Yadav has been released. The management feels that there is no need for three left-arm spinners in the squad with Jadeja and Patel available. Axar has made a comeback to the Indian Test squad after being out of the team since the Mumbai Test against New Zealand.

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While announcing the India squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka on February 22, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had stated: “Axar Patel is currently undergoing his rehab and is not available for selection for the first Test. He will be assessed later to ascertain his selection for the second Test.”

Now with a full-strength squad available for selection, it will be a tough task for the Indian selectors to pick the strongest playing Xi depending upon the conditions. In this article, we take a look at three players who might be rested for the second IND vs SL Test match in Bengaluru.

IND vs SL: 3 Indian Players Who Might Be Rested In The 2nd Test

Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal did not make the best use of the given opportunity in the first Test against Sri Lanka. In a match, where the entire batting line-up scored runs, Agarwal was the only blip as he could not capitalise on a good start. He scored 33 off 49 balls and played down the wrong line from Lasith Embuldeniya to get himself dismissed.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has spoken about trying a few new things with his bunch of players across formats. With good bench strength available for selection, Agarwal might be replaced by Shubman Gill who is waiting for his opportunity. Hanuma Vihari cashed in on the opportunity of batting at number three and hence, the opening slot is the only slot that requires a change in the batting line-up.

Jayant Yadav

With Axar Patel primed for a return, Jayant Yadav might be the second player to be rested in the IND vs SL second Test in Bengaluru. He went wicketless in the first Test with both Ashwin and Jadeja reaping the rewards of bowling to an inexperienced Lankan batting line-up.

Yadav bowled a total of 17 overs in the match and gave away 36 runs without bagging a wicket. With the bat, he scored 2 off 18 balls.

Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah will continue to be the two-man pace attack as India is looking to field a spin-heavy line-up. This means that Mohammed Siraj will continue to sit out in the series. With a Test series to win, Rohit Sharma would look to field his five best bowlers according to the conditions and Siraj does not fit the bill.

With the pitch expected to turn as the game progresses, the trip of Jadeja, Axar and Ashwin will form the bowling attack along with Shami and Bumrah. Six batsmen along with five bowlers seem to be the likely playing XI for the IND vs SL second Test in Bengaluru.

Also Read: IND vs SL: Kuldeep Yadav Gets Released After Axar Patel Joins The Indian Test Squad Ahead Of 2nd Test – Reports