The Indian Cricket Team are set to lock horns against Najmul Hossain Shanto’s Bangladesh in the second test-match match of the two-match Test Series on the 27th of September at the Green Park Cricket Ground of Kanpur.
All eyes would be on whether the Men in Blue will make any kind of changes to their starting XI ahead of the 2nd test. The Rohit Sharma-led team, having easily defeated the Tigers in the Chennai Test-match, are looking to seal the series and strengthen their lead at the top of the WTC overall standings.
However, with Kanpur likely to go ahead with a spinner-friendly pitch for the 2nd test-match, the Indian Cricket Team’s management might be tempted to make some adjustments to their playing XI.
The pitch of the Green Park Cricket Ground of Kanpur tends to be on the slower side, which could entice the Indian Cricket Team to go with three spinners for the upcoming Kanpur Test-match.
Unlike the balanced-surface of Chennai, Kanpur’s pitch provides assistance to the spin bowlers and with the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel riding the bench, this could prove to be their time to shine.
The Men in Blue would feel comfortable to ahead with fielding three-proper spin bowlers, with Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav likely to get picked.
Sanjay Manjrekar, the commentator of Indian-Cricket, suggested that the 2023 WTC runners-up should pick Kuldeep in-order to add variety to their spin-bowling unit.
With Yadav’s Chinaman spin-bowling, his addition could complement R Ashwin’s off-spin bowling and Ravindra Jadeja’s slow-left-arm-orthodox, providing Rohit Sharma and his men the luxury of going ahead with their spin-to-win strategy.
If the Men in Blue decide to go ahead with three spinners, then one of the pacers will likely have to be sacrificed.
The duo of Akash Deep and Mohammad Siraj performed well with the ball in Chennai versus Bangladesh, but with spinners anticipated to have the upper hand in Kanpur, the Indian Cricket Team’s management might have to drop one of them.
The former’s ability to generate reverse-swing with the old-ball gives him an advantage over the latter, whose speed was an important-factor in the lively surface of Chennai, but that might not be the case in Kanpur.
Another possible scenario which might arise is of letting Jasprit Bumrah get some rest by not including him in the starting XI for the 2nd test.
Resting Bumrah would be a good option so that he remains fit and avoids picking up any kind of serious injuries ahead of the New Zealand Test-Series and the tour of India.
So if Bumrah does end up getting rested for the 2nd test, then the Men in Blue can bring Kuldeep in and let the duo of Siraj and Akash Deep play as the front line seamers in tomorrow’s match.
Other than this, no other changes are anticipated to be made in India’s playing XI for the 2nd test-match versus Bangladesh.
India’s Strongest Playing XI for the 2nd test-match versus Bangladesh
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant (WK), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deep / Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj.
Also Read: IND vs BAN: Bangladesh’s Strongest Playing XI for the 2nd Test vs India | Shakib to get dropped?
For more information, visit the official websites of Indian Cricket and ICC