Rishabh Pant may play as a batter in place of Karun Nair; Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav likely to play 4th Test

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Till a few days ago, the Indian team management was leaning towards retaining an unchanged playing XI for the fourth Test in Manchester, despite the narrow defeat at Lord’s. The belief within the camp was that the team had competed well and a change in fortune was only a matter of time. Continuity was seen as key to maintaining rhythm and confidence, especially in a closely fought series.

However, as the fourth Test draws closer, that line of thinking has been disrupted by a growing list of injury concerns. India may now be forced to make a few strategic changes to their combination, both to manage player workload and to ensure the right balance on what could be a result-oriented surface at Old Trafford.

One of the major concerns is around Rishabh Pant’s fitness. While the southpaw is fit to bat, he is not 100 per cent fit to do wicketkeeping duties. As a precaution, the team management is considering playing Dhruv Jurel in place of Pant. The young wicketkeeper from Uttar Pradesh has promise but looked extremely rusty behind the stumps.

Jurel’s inclusion, however, could come at the cost of Karun Nair, who was being looked at as a potential middle-order reinforcement. Which means, this playing XI would have three wicket-keepers with KL Rahul also being the one who can do wicket-keeping (did wicket-keeping duty in South Africa). If that is the case, why isn’t KL keeping the wickets instead of Jurel and make an extra batter like Abhiimanyu Easwaran or Sai Sudarshan play? Surprising, isn’t?

In total, Jurel gave away 11 and 25 byes in both the innings at the Lord’s Test. “Then, what sort of selection is this?,” a source asked while adding that all isn’t well with the team selection.

Meanwhile, in the bowling department, the focus has shifted due to the uncertainty of Akash Deep. The Bengal pacer is nursing a back injury, and the team is unlikely to risk playing him unless he is fully fit. Interestingly, rather than opting for another like-for-like pace replacement such as Prasidh Krishna, the team management is seriously considering bringing in Kuldeep Yadav.

The inclusion of the left-arm wrist-spinner would give India a varied bowling attack and could be a tactical move, especially if the pitch in Manchester offers some assistance to spin as the game progresses. Therefore, every selection call will be crucial in determining whether India can bounce back and keep their hopes alive in the series.