The Indian cricket team has made a comeback in the 5-match test series after winning the second test match which was played at Vizag but now they need to ensure that they don’t lost the winning way and perform well in the remaining 3 test matches in order to win the series.
It is quite clear now that Virat Kohli won’t be playing the third and fourth test matches, in fact he may miss the entire series and this is certainly a big blow to the Indian team as playing without their best batter will certainly increase pressure on them.
Many cricket fans are eager to know the list of the players who will be playing the third and fourth test matches but the Board of Control for Cricket in India doesn’t seem to be in a hurry as the third test match will start from 15 February in Rajkot and this gives them ample time to take some important decisions.
Earlier there were reports that the selectors will choose the team for the remaining three test matches on Thursday but then the meeting was shifted to Friday and by the time this article was written, the team for the remaining three test matches was not announced.
A source states that Virat Kohli hasn’t informed the selectors about his return date but it is more or less clear that he won’t be playing in this series. He adds that the delay in the selection of the team is not because of Virat Kohli, it is because of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja.
It is being said that earlier the selectors were thinking of resting Jasprit Bumrah in the third test match but now they want Bumrah to play in the Rajkot test as his absence may hamper India’s chances of winning the test match. Jasprit Bumrah was in superb form in the second test match which was played at Vizag as he took 9 wickets and played an important role in his team’s win and the decision of him playing in Rajkot will be taken only after having a discussion with him and also after seeing medical report on the pacer’s workload.
The selectors are also waiting for the fitness reports of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja. They both missed the 2nd test match due to injuries; currently they are in the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru and recovering from their injuries. These two have become very important in the Indian middle order especially in the absence of Virat Kohli and if we take a look at the second test match, then the Indian batting was not much convincing, if we leave aside the performances of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill.
Let’s see who all will be included in the Indian test squad for the remaining test matches.
