Possibility of three changes in Indian playing XI in third test against England
Before the third test, the Indian team has suffered a big blow as K L Rahul will not play the third test match. In such a situation, discussion has started regarding who will be included in the playing eleven in his place.
The third Test match of the series between India and England will be played in Rajkot from Februrary 15.
At present the series is tied at 1-1. Both teams would now like to win the third Test match at any cost, so that they can take the lead in the series. Before the third test, the Indian team has suffered a big blow as K L Rahul will not play the third test match. In such a situation, discussion has started regarding who will be included in the playing eleven in his place.
KS Bharat has not been able to give any special performance till now. In such a situation, it is expected that Dhruv Jurel will get a chance to debut in his place. Jurel has had good performance in domestic cricket. Considering this, the team management can try him in place of KS Bharat.
Sarfaraz has been waiting to debut for a long time. Sarfaraz has won the trust of the team management with his performance in domestic cricket. Rajat Patidar got a chance in the second test but he also failed to score a big score. In such a situation, now the equation is going in favor of Sarfaraz Khan. If Sarfaraz is part of the XI then Rajat will have to sit out.
If Jadeja remains completely fit, he can be included in the eleven in place of Akshar Patel. In fact, BCCI has directly said that until Jadeja proves his full fitness, he will not be selected in the eleven. In such a situation, only time will tell whether Jadeja will play the third test match or not.
The spinners work wonders on the Rajkot pitch. In such a situation, apart from Kuldeep and Akshar Patel, Ashwin will also be a part of the eleven. The Indian team will enter the third test with two fast bowlers Bumrah and Siraj. It is being said about the pitch of SCA Stadium (Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot Pitch report) that the batsmen are going to get a lot of help in the first two days. But after this the spinners will start showing their magic on this pitch. The pitch here is going to be slow.
Till now two test matches have been played on this ground in which India has won one test and lost the other. The team batting first after winning the game has won a Test on this ground.
Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Axar Patel/Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.