England lead by 186 runs in Manchester Test having scored 544/7 at end of day 3.
A harsh criticism of India head coach Gautam Gambhir's management of squad combinations during the current fourth Test match against England at Old Trafford, Manchester, has been launched by former cricket player Navjot Singh Sidhu.
This followed England's first innings at stumps on day three, which saw them post 544/7 thanks to 150 from Joe Root and an undefeated fifty from Ben Stokes. India is now 186 runs behind after scoring 358 runs.
India's numerous changes, according to Sidhu, have harmed the team's rhythm and ability to function as a unit.
“In the third match, Bumrah returns and Prasidh Krishna is dropped. In the fourth match, Akash Deep gets injured, and Anshul Kamboj is brought in. What is going on? Have you ever seen this many changes? It's not just bad, it's worse.
You're not able to build a proper combination. Who understands better than Gautam Gambhir that teams win because of combinations, not individual brilliance? When he was with KKR, it was the six-bowler combination that picked up 106 wickets. That made the difference,” Sidhu said on his YouTube channel.
He also questioned several decisions taken across the four Tests. Sidhu also questioned the lack of Kuldeep Yadav and the slowdown in Bumrah's pace, highlighting India's bowling performance.
“In the first match, Bumrah play,s but Shardul isn't given the ball alongside him. Then Shardul gets dropped, Bumrah doesn't play, Akash Deep comes in, Washington Sundar comes in, Nitish Reddy comes in.
Today, it felt like there were only two and a half bowlers. Just look at Bumrah. In the first Test, over 40% of his balls were over 140 km/h. Today, only one ball crossed that mark. So somewhere, the engine looks tired,” he added.
As England dominates the fourth Test and leads 2-1, concerns about India's management and selection strategy have only grown.