NEW DELHI: India's selection dilemma is severe as they look to recover from a rare home loss to England in the second Test with Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul suffering untimely injuries.
Before England turned the tables on the intimidating hosts in the Hyderabad Test, Jadeja and Rahul were two of India's top performances in the first innings.
During the Hyderabad Test, Jadeja hurt his hamstring aiming for a rapid single, and Rahul reported having soreness in his right quadriceps.
The home team's problems are exacerbated by the duo's absence; they were obviously taken aback by England's "Bazball" tactic.
With his outstanding all-around skills, Jadeja renders himself practically irreplaceable, and since recovering from surgery in September, Rahul has also emerged as one of India's most valuable hitters in both the ODI and Test formats.
Due to personal reasons, Virat Kohli is still out of commission. The management in Visakhapatnam, where the second Test starts on Friday, will be particularly missing him following the shocking loss in the first game of the series.
With Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar, and Washington Sundar added to the group, selectors have ample choices for Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid to chose from.
Rajat Patidar, who was also among the 15 in Hyderabad, is an obvious choice. With Kuldeep Yadav replacing Jadeja as the third spinner behind R Ashwin and Axar Patel, he might replace Rahul in the middle order.
1/10:India vs England 1st Test: Statistical Highlights
ANI
2/10:Ollie Pope
<p>Ollie Pope's 196 is his second highest Test score behind the 205 vs Ireland at Lord's in June 2023. </p>IANS
3/10:Joe Root
<p>Just three England batters have amassed more runs in an innings in India - 218 by Joe Root in 2021; 207 by Mike Gatting in 1985 and 201 by Graeme Fowler in 1985 - all three at Chennai. </p>IANS
4/10:Tom Hartley
<p>Tom Hartley's figures of 7/62 are the fifth best bowling performance against India on Test debut and also the best for an England spinner on Test debut in the post-war era (since 1945). </p>PTI
5/10:9 wickets
<p>Tom Hartley's nine wickets in a match are the joint-most since Robert Berry's 9/116 vs West Indies in Manchester in 1950. </p>PTI
6/10:2nd highest losing 1st innings score
<p>India's total of 436 is their second highest losing first innings score in India, resulting in a defeat behind the 449 against Pakistan at Bengaluru in 2005. </p>PTI
7/10:Shubman Gill
<p>Shubman Gill averages 17.30 (173 runs in his last 11 innings without a 50), the highest being 36 against South Africa at Cape Town this month) since making 128 against Australia at Ahmedabad (March 2023). </p>AFP
8/10:Defeat for India
<p>190 is the second highest first innings lead resulting in a defeat for India in a Test match - the highest being 192 against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2015. </p>AFP
9/10:4th narrowest Test defeat
<p>This is the fourth narrowest Test defeat for India by runs (28), behind 12 runs vs Pakistan in Chennai 1999, 16 runs vs Australia in Brisbane 1977 and 16 vs Pakistan in Bengaluru 1987. </p>AFP
10/10:England seamers
<p>This is the first instance that there was no wicket for England seamers in a Test in post war era (since 1945), where they have taken all 20 opposition wickets. </p>ReutersAnother alternative for India is to play one pacer for four spin options, just like England did in the first game.
In that scenario, Kuldeep may replace Mohammed Siraj, and the squad might then include Sarfaraz Khan or Washington to strengthen the middle order.
Sourabh can be a dark horse in that race because he is a solid batsman with a couple of hundreds in first class cricket and bowls left-arm spin like Jadeja.
There have been two Test matches played at Visakhapatnam's ACA-VDCA Stadium to date, and the pitch is typically batting friendly, at least in the first innings.
When India batted first at this venue back in 2019, they amassed 502 points in the opening innings against South Africa, with Mayank Agarwal recording a double hundred and Rohit putting up a quick 176 in his first-ever Test innings.
Spin legend Anil Kumble feels wrist spinner Kuldeep's presence in the eleven will be helpful.
"If India feel that they need only one fast bowler then having Kuldeep will certainly help. He will have variations but England will come and do the same things they did in Hyderabad," Kumble told the host broadcaster.
"The wicket could be a turning one and we are expecting the pace to be quicker than this. This was slow but it was a good wicket if you applied yourself. India certainly need to buckle up with their approach to playing against spin.
1/10:Ollie Pope, Tom Hartley star as England stun India in opening Test
AP
2/10:Seven-star Hartley shines on debut
<p>Debutant spinner Tom Hartley took seven wickets as England pulled off a dramatic 28-run upset win over India marked by a stellar batting performance by Ollie Pope in the opening Test in Hyderabad on Sunday.<br /></p>Getty Images
3/10:England bowl India out for 202 to register thrilling win
<p>Chasing 231 for victory, India were bowled out for 202 in the final over of an extended third session of play on the fourth day in Hyderabad, as Hartley got Mohammed Siraj stumped with his left-arm spin to trigger celebrations from the England camp.<br /></p>IANS
4/10:Pope stands out with his 196-run knock
<p>Pope stood out with his 196 to bring England bouncing back from being 190 behind at the start of their second innings to lead the five-match series 1-0.<br /></p>AFP
5/10:Hartley dismisses Bharat to grab his five-wicket haul
<p>Hartley, who got his five-wicket haul after he bowled wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat, kept coming back to return figures of 7-62 and a match tally of nine wickets.</p>PTI
6/10:Hartley scalps Jaiswal, Gill in space of three balls
<p>India started well in their chase, before Hartley struck twice in one over to send back Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) and Shubman Gill (0) in the space of three deliveries.</p>IANS
7/10:Hartley gets rid of India skipper Rohit
<p>Rohit looked good in his knock of 39, but got rapped on the pads by Hartley's darting ball into the right-hander and walked back after his failed review on the lbw.<br /></p>IANS
8/10:India lose Axar soon after tea break
<p>The left-handed Axar Patel (17) was promoted up the order and began attacking the bowling but was dismissed after the tea break and India soon slipped to 119-7.<br /></p>IANS
9/10:Injured Leach sends Iyer back
<p>Premier spinner Jack Leach took the field with an injured knee, after he banged it on day one and two, and bowled 10 overs for the wicket of Shreyas Iyer, for 13.<br /></p>Getty Images
10/10:Hartley dismisses Ashwin to end India's hopes
<p>Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin attempted to pull things back in their partnership of 57 but Hartley got them out to end India's hopes.<br /></p>Reuters"I also felt that they were certainly rattled by the way England approached their batting and with that, they have to come up with plans, some unconventional ones. They never tried any variations so that's something I am sure they will be looking to do," he said referring to the spin trio being put under pressure with England's relentless sweeping tactic.
Washington, a left-handed batsman who bowls off-spin with his right hand, also has a good case for selection after demonstrating a lot of promise during his four Test career.
He played in three games in the previous home series against England in 2021 after making his debut in the historic Test victory at the Gabba.
Over the course of that series, Washington achieved an 85 not out and 96 not out in five innings and took two wickets in a match that was dominated by Ashwin and Axar, the front-line spinners.
Former selector Sarandeep Singh, during whose tenure Washington made his debut Down Under, said the all-rounder is a utility player but he would not want to tinker too much with the playing eleven.
"It is pretty simple for me. Rajat Patidar comes in for Rahul and Kuldeep comes in for Jadeja. We don't need to copy England and play four spinners. Playing with two pacers and three spinners has been our strength at home. We need to stick to it," said the former India spinner.
However, he reckons it would be better for the team's cause if Rohit drops himself to number 3 and an under-fire Shubman Gill opens the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Having replaced the experienced Cheteshwar Pujara in the top-order, Gill, who had previously stated his desire to play at three, has not been able to reproduce his white ball form in the conventional format.
"Gill is not a number three player. He should open. Rohit is one of the best players of spin and can drop down to accommodate Gill at the top," Sarandeep added.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer also expressed similar views.
"Gill and Jaiswal should open and Rohit should bat at no.3 in 2nd test in my opinion. Waiting to bat for his turn isn't helping Shubman, it's better he opens the inn. Rohit plays spin really well, so batting at no.3 should not worry him too much," Jaffer posted on X.
(With PTI inputs)
