ENG vs IND: Ajinkya Rahane Urges Gautam Gambhir, Shubman Gill For Extra Bowler In Manchester Test
In the ongoing five-match Test series between England and India, the Indian cricket team is currently trailing the series by 1-1 after the first three matches. A lot will be decided in the upcoming Manchester test, which will be a do-or-die match for India to come forward in the series.
To all this, Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane believes that some changes should be made in the playing XI of the team in upcoming games. The cricketer who is not part of the team for the England tour has now suggested head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill make some changes in the team by adding another bowler to the team.
Currently Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, and Mohammed Siraj were the seamers at the last match played at the Lords, whereas Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Reddy, and Washington Sundar were the three all-rounders. Meanwhile, Rahane wants another bowler to be added to the line.
"England bowled really well" - Ajinkya Rahane
In a recent video shared by Ajinkya Rahane on his YouTube channel, he stated that,
"We all know that Day 4 and 5 get slightly difficult to bat on. It's not easy to score runs. Yes, England bowled really well. But I felt India missed an opportunity to get that big score on the board in the first innings. And also, I feel going forward, India should look to add one extra bowler because you're going to win a Test match or a Test series by getting 20 wickets."
Nitish Reddy to get dropped from fourth Test?
After the Lord's Test, there are reports that Nitish Reddy might get dropped from the team. If he gets dropped, then there are chances that the management could think of adding Kuldeep Yadav to the team for the Manchester Test.
In his YouTube video, Rahane also praised England side captain Ben Stokes for the power he brings on the field, especially when the ball comes to his hand.
Rahane said,
"It's very easy for the fielder to get relaxed. When you see only two or three balls left before lunch, you can easily get relaxed. But his attitude towards the ball, his intensity, and getting that run-out—that's where I felt England came into the game."
After England lost the second Test at Birmingham, they didn't lose their confidence but made a strong comeback, which impressed Rahane the most.
He said,
"That's what you want to see in Test cricket—all11 fielders coming together and looking to win the Test match."
The fourth test between England and India will commence on July 23 at Manchester. Now it will be interesting to see if India makes the comeback in the do-or-die match or England will move one step forward to win the series.