After clinging to the biggest-ever win against England in the Rajkot Test, few changes might be possibly seen in the Indian side as Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be rested for the Ranchi test as he won’t be traveling with the side to Ranchi. Meanwhile, KL Rahul who’s been out due to injury is likely to join the eleven in the fourth test of the series.
KL Rahul who sat out of the second and third tests due to a Quadriceps strain, shone well in the first test at Hyderabad. He was almost fit for the third test but was ruled out in the eleventh hour failing to recover from the injury completely.
Rahul has shown some tremendous form in recent times across all formats. The tour to South Africa had KL Rahul as the only Centurion from the Indian side. The series ended in a draw of 1-1. But after a good batting performance in the first test, the 31-year-old suffered an injury which made him out of the second test.
KL Rahul to be back in the squad
The Indian cricket board released a statement indicating that KL Rahul was deemed 90 percent fit, and the team management believed he required additional time for full recovery from his quadriceps problem. Following India’s 434-run victory, Captain Rohit Sharma, addressing the press in Rajkot, provided an optimistic update regarding Rahul’s injury rehabilitation.
Moreover, Bumrah will be rested and Mukesh Kumar has been called from the Ranji side as a backup. There’s a chance that the management might choose to include only one fast bowler, Mohammed Siraj, and instead field three specialist spinners – R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel – alongside Ravindra Jadeja. This decision could be influenced by the Ranchi pitch’s historically favorable conditions for spinners.
England struggled with their batting in both innings during the match at Rajkot. They were dismissed for just 122 runs on day four while attempting to chase down a daunting target of 557 for victory. England suffered a defeat by 434 runs, marking their second-largest loss in Test cricket.
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