India's Test Squad Evaluation and Selection Dilemmas Ahead of Fourth Test Against England

A team is seldom under intense criticism, particularly after destroying its opponent in a Test match by a score of 434 runs.

For Team India, the upcoming five-match series has seen a diminished team overcome an almost fully-fit England team to take a 2-1 lead. That just helps to highlight the sort of effect that the younger players and the reserves have had in ensuring that players like as Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were not missed.


In the just finished Test match here, the majority of the boxes were checked despite a shaky beginning on the first morning when India was reeling at 33/3. Even without Ravichandran Ashwin on the pivotal third day of the match, the bowling attack rose to the occasion and kept things close until England batsmen made egregious, unavoidable mistakes that gave the Indians the lead.

Young guns Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, and even keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who scored 46 and played in a crucial 77-run eighth-wicket stand with Ashwin, must produce strong follow-up performances if England is to be eliminated from the series in the fourth Test itself. However, India must address the No. 4 position in their batting order concurrently, since it seems to be the only place that needs attention.

KL Rahul is anticipated to stroll into the starting XI and provide a bit more batting experience to India if he is totally healthy and has recovered from the quadriceps ailment that had kept him out of the last two Test matches. "KL's chances of attending the fourth Test in Ranchi do appear brighter, given his recent good progress," an insider at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore told The Telegraph on Monday.

That being said, Rahul's availability for the Ranchi Test, which starts on Friday, is still up for debate.

Should Rahul be left off the roster, would India stick with Rajat Patidar, who only scores 46 runs in four innings during the second and third Tests? To be honest, Patidar's dismissal in the first innings of the second Test against England Lions was regrettable. He had made his Test debut in Visakhapatnam after runs of 111 and 151 for India 'A' against the Lions.

He'd blocked the ball with his front foot and it had slid back onto the stumps. But in the following three innings, he played very bad shots and wasted the possibilities that were presented to him.

Devdutt Padikkal is available for India to use. The left-hander joined the team before to the third Test after having a strong Ranji Trophy season for Karnataka. He has also participated in some net practise with the India coaching staff.

The team management would have a difficult decision to make about Rahul's No. 4 spot until the BCCI approves his comeback for the next Test.

Given his workload, pacer Jasprit Bumrah, whose seven-over stint on the third morning of the third Test was similarly important in setting off England's collapse in the first innings, might be rested in Ranchi.

"The T20 World Cup starts in less than a week after this Test series, followed by the IPL. Therefore, it seems sense to give him some rest, especially in order to prevent a collapse before a World Cup, an insider from the BCCI said.

Mukesh Kumar will be returning to the team in Ranchi. He played in Bengal's Ranji match against Bihar, which concluded on Sunday. The Bengal bowler is expected to bowl alongside Mohammed Siraj in the next Test match, however bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has also had his statemate Akash Deep bowl in the Niranjan Shah Stadium nets for a considerable amount of time.

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