Ex-cricketer Mohammad Kaif shared his worries about India’s batting force for the upcoming second Test versus England. They’ll be playing without Virat Kohli, which Mohammad Kaif sees as a potential problem. He’s afraid that bringing Kohli back for the third Test could be a delayed decision for India.
After being named in the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England, Kohli pulled out citing personal reasons. In his absence, the hosts went down to the Englishmen by 28 runs in the first Test in Hyderabad.
Kohli won’t be the only one India will be without for the Visakhapatnam Test on February 2. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja will also be absent. KL Rahul reported right quadriceps discomfort, and Jadeja has a hamstring injury.
In an interview with Timesofindia.com, Mohammad Kaif stated that India is playing like a one-day team in Test cricket.
“What I feel is that an Indian ODI team is playing Test cricket at the moment. Be it Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill, all are strokemakers. Gill loves to hit shots, but doesn’t have much confidence in his defence. So he has to make adjustments to his defensive technique to see off good bowling spells. Even Shreyas Iyer is an aggressive player.”
Mohammad Kaif
In response to the absence of Kohli, Rahul, and Jadeja for the second Test, he said:
“I hope it isn’t too late till Virat Kohli comes (after the second Test). Dhruv Jurel or on current form, even Sarfaraz Khan can get a look in. But in the absence of KL Rahul and Jadeja, the Indian batting will weaken, no doubt about that. Axar may have to bat at No.8 and that’s why I feel Washington Sundar can get a look-in because they want batting till No. 9.”
Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif also stated that it would be unjust to eliminate young players without giving them a fair chance and return to players such as Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. He did, however, support Pujara to make a Test comeback based on his strong Ranji Trophy record.
India’s batting collapse hands England a massive win in the first Test in Hyderabad
After winning the toss, India batted first and limited England to 246 runs, with Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin taking three wickets each, and Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah taking two.
India answered with 436 runs, with Jadeja leading the way with 87. Rahul (86) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (80) also contributed significantly.
In their second innings, England rallied from 163/5 to record 420, with Ollie Pope scoring a superb 196. On his debut, Tom Hartley got seven wickets as India were knocked out for 202 in a pursuit of 231.