India vs England: Time for second thoughts on Indian team combination? | Cricket News – Times of India

TOI takes a look…
SPOTLIGHT ON RAHANE

Right now, the man in the dock.
He is the vice-captain and by that logic alone, his place should be safe, especially after the half-century at Lord’s in a Test which India won.
But India are desperate to turn things around, and the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Hanuma Vihari are sitting on the bench.
There is no doubt Rahane needs to be more consistent: he has scores of 5, 1, 61, 18 and 10 in this series.
is it time for a wake-up call?
ISHANT IN FOCUS, AND SHOULD ONE OF THE OTHER FAST BOWLERS BE RESTED?

Veteran Ishant Sharma appeared off-colour in the Leeds Test and though skipper Kohli dismissed questions about his fitness, doubts linger. If Ishant is dropped, Shardul Thakur, who played at Nottingham before injuring his hamstring, may get a game, especially since he can bat a bit too. If Shardul hasn’t recovered fully, India may have no choice but to play Umesh Yadav, who hasn’t got many chances of late.
India have also sorely missed a genuine swing bowler on this tour. Kohli talked about the need to “rest and rotate” his pacers “definitely at some point” and they have to be careful not to break their pace trio of Bumrah, Siraj and Shami.
ASHWIN IN, JADEJA OUT?

Not as straightforward as it seems. Ravindra Jadeja’s knee injury may force Kohli to play his star offie. However, on a ground where spinners have done well, if Jadeja is also fit to play it may allow India to opt for a surprise move: play both Ashwin and Jadeja along with three frontline quicks.
This option will offer Rishabh Pant some batting cushion too but may go against Kohli’s basic philosophy of punting on a four-pace attack, which he has talked up quite a bit. The weather, and threat of damp conditions, too might play a part in the decision.
WHAT ABOUT AGARWAL AND PRITHVI SHAW

They might keep warming the bench. Cheteshwar Pujara’s place appears safe after the 91 in Leeds, and playing either of Mayank Agarwal or Prithvi Shaw would mean shifting KL Rahul’s place again, which will be unfair given the kind of starts he and Rohit Sharma have provided.
However, there’s a catch here: given Pant’s iffy form and dodgy approach at the crease, for any other captain there would have been a temptation to play an additional batsman and drop a bowler. For Kohli, though, 20 wickets is key, so he may need a lot of convincing!