England and India will play the third Test of the five-match series at the Trent Bridge ground in Nottingham. England has already taken a 2-0 lead in the series with wins at Birmingham and Lord’s and will look to pocket the series at Nottingham.
Team India has come under severe criticism from all quarters for their performance in the Lord’s Test which they lost by an innings and 159 runs to England, after getting bowled out for 107 and 130 in the two innings. Captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri were taken to task for playing two spinners at Lord’s despite the rain and for having enough practice matches and net sessions in between the Test matches.
Injuries have also hurt the Indian team badly as they missed two of their most potent bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah due to a back injury and broken thumb respectively. However, with Bumrah seen bowling in the nets during practice, the Indian team management is seeing silver linings in dark clouds for the next Test.
Team Circle of Cricket presents to you the predicted Indian Playing XI for the third Test at Trent Bridge.
The opening combination of KL Rahul and M Vijay might survive the failures of Lord’s Test to be given another chance at Trent Bridge. M Vijay, who bagged a pair, might get another chance based on his reputation as being the best opener India has. KL Rahul too is expected to be given a chance thanks to his inexperience in England conditions.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli are expected to resume their positions at no.3 and no.4 respectively. Pujara still has the best technique amongst the Indian batsmen and Trent Bridge might be his saving grace. Virat Kohli reportedly has recovered from his back problem and is fit to lead the team in the must-win match.
Ajinkya Rahane, despite his loss of form, was one of the best batsmen last time around for India and hopes are high from him to gain some form and help Kohli bring India back into the series.
Dinesh Karthik has been a disappointment both in front of stumps and with the gloves. His keeping has been unsafe at times and he has dropped catches choosing flamboyance over safety at times. With the bat, he has been a big failure and even the fans clamored for MS Dhoni to come out of retirement and help the team out.
His replacement might be the young Rishabh Pant, who had done well on the A tour to England. He has shown that he has matured over the years both as a keeper and as a batsman, his aggressiveness must bring some positivity into the Indian team down the order. Pant, along with Hardik Pandya might be just the adrenaline rush Team India requires to negate the Anderson and Broad pair.
The Indian team management hopefully won’t make the same mistake of picking two spinners on the Trent Bridge pitch which is usually called the fastest in England. A fit Jasprit Bumrah might replace Kuldeep Yadav and R Ashwin is most likely to be slated in as the lone spinner.
Partnering Bumrah might be Mohammad Shami, who bowled brilliantly in the Lord’s Test and along with him; Ishant Sharma is likely to play the role of the workhorse.
India needs to win this Test to remain alive in the Test series and have to pick the best of the bunch they have.
COC Predicted Indian Test XI for the Trent Bridge Test:
M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma
