ENG vs IND 2025: Who should Team India pick for the Manchester Test? A selection breakdown.
Even after five days’ of hard-fought cricket in all three departments, the bottom line says that India have lost the third Test by 22 runs at Lord’s. And, now, they are moving to the Emirates Old Trafford ground in Manchester for the fourth fixture. It hasn’t been a sweet environment for the Blue Brigade, having lost four of the nine red-ball games without a victory.
Another solid issue of the venue is that none of the current Test players of the squad has any experience of playing at this ground. The last five-day contest for the two-time WTC runners-up in Manchester came in 2014. On that occasion, they limped twice to cross the 150-run mark.
The current condition of the ground suggests that the batters would enjoy their time in the middle. However, it will be tough for the bowlers in the first three and a half days. In the ongoing County Championship Division Two 2025, all the red-ball encounters at this ground have ended in drawn results. In the most recent fixture against Derbyshire, the teams’ scores were 458, 314, 184, and 220.
There are a few questions around the Indian camp for their selection. The best thing for them is that after two back-to-back games, they will enjoy a nine-day break to get refreshed. Let’s dissect the probable combination for the 4th Test.
Read More: Where did India go wrong at Lord’s?
Sai Sudharsan should replace Karun Nair at number three
The experiment of Karun Nair at number three didn’t work in both the Edgbaston and Lord’s Tests. The right-handed batter has notched up only 131 runs in six innings and has failed terribly at number three. It was hard to understand why the management dropped Sai Sudharsan after the opening game and promoted the Vidarbha batter from number six.
Nair’s feet movement at the start of the innings has been terrible. But the biggest issue for him has been throwing his wicket away after being set. He did it twice at Lord’s with scores of 40 and 14 across the two innings. The veteran is also scared of the straight deliveries so much that his hands kept going after the balls like a magnet.
Sudharsan looked decent during the second innings of the opening Leeds Test. The southpaw cracked 30 runs after a four-ball duck in the first inning. Apart from the number three, India’s batting looks solid. Yashavsi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, captain Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant- all have celebrated their respective centuries. Even Ravindra Jadeja has contributed immensely so far with 327 runs in six innings of the series.
Read More: ICC Rankings: Gill drops to no. 9; Bumrah & Jadeja continue to top bowlers & all-rounders list
Jasprit Bumrah’s selection stands on threshold
India’s coach Gautam Gambhir was crystal clear about their premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, featuring in three Tests of the series, irrespective of the result. Now, he has already played two out of three. That leads him to play one of the next two. In an ideal world, the Ahmedabad-born should play the Manchester fixture, which is a sort of do-or-die. Moreover, there is a week’s break.
But that was also the case at Edgbaston with the visitors trailing by a 1-0 margin. England batters have enjoyed their time in the last four years at the Old Trafford. Zak Crawley smashed 189 during the Ashes 2023.
Since January 2021, Joe Root has clubbed 197 Test runs in Manchester at an average of over 65. Jamie Smith and Ben Stokes have also enjoyed the venue with 150 and 154 runs respectively in this period.
That makes it more essential for Bumrah to turn up for the fourth Test. He is the second leading wicket-taker of the series with 12 scalps at an average of 21 in just 86.4 overs. Additionally, he is coming off a great individual performance at Lord’s with match figures of 7/112 in 43 overs.
If the Shubman Gill-led side loses the next Test in Manchester, that will be the end of the series. There won’t be any meaning of the fifth Oval Test apart from earning a few WTC 2025-27 points. However, the final decision rests with the management.
India need to regroup for strong mental preparation in Manchester
Apart from these couple of changes, India are likely to stick with the same other players. Washington Sundar bowled well in the third innings of the Lord’s Test while Nitish Kumar Reddy was decent in his all-round performance. Gill informed Pant ‘will be fine for the next Test’ after scans revealed no major setback.
Meanwhile, Gill’s army needs to be careful in seizing moments in the game. The scorecard won’t reflect the number of mistakes they made in the third game. From 376/6 in the third evening session, they suffered a mini collapse, losing the four wickets for just 21 runs. They just started to block the runs and let the game drift from the position.
Meanwhile, they were in full control of the game until Pant’s run-out happened. KL Rahul dropped Jamie Smith on five in the first innings as the batter went on to make 51. As a team, they can’t let the chances go. For a better show in Manchester to keep the series alive, they have to be crystal clear with the strategies and be a little calm in tense situations.
Read More: Why India should be thankful for having Ravindra Jadeja in their ranks
