Battle for 2 spots among 4 players, serious headache for Gautam Gambhir in England
There is a difficult decision ahead of Team India, as they pick two among four extremely talented all-rounders in the England Tests series. The competition is intense, which mounts pressure on coach Gautam Gambhir. The strategy of the team will be seriously affected by this decision.
Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy are fighting over one leading all-rounder pace position. Thakur has the England experience and Reddy has intrigued with his performance in the Australian tour. Their performance in the intra-squad match and English conditions suitability will be the determining factor.
In three Tests played in England, Thakur has 122 runs and 8 wickets to his name. He has scored a best of 60 runs and has taken 2/22 as his best bowling figures. This experience places him at a huge advantage of selection.
Reddy has no experience of playing in England but scored a century in Australia. His 5 Test matches in Australia picked 298 runs and 5 wickets. The lack of experience is compensated by the hopes about his potential in England after this performance.
The spin all-rounder is a position where Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar are fighting. Jadeja has plenty of experience in England (12 Tests, 642 runs, 27 wickets) and is therefore a contender. Talented as he is, Sundar does not have the experience of English conditions.
The overall Test record of Sundar is spectacular, 9 Tests, 468 runs (42.54 average), and 25 wickets. His inexperience in English conditions may count however against the proven record of Jadeja.
Finally, Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill will have to consider experience over potential. Thakur has the experience of playing in England which makes him a probable candidate whereas Jadeja has a long list of records in his name. The playing XI in the end will be an interesting mixture of youth and experience.
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