The Indian Cricket team would be hoping to wipe away some of the bad memories of the WTC final. Virat Kohli and his army failed to cross the victory line as they lost against New Zealand in the final. Questionable team selection and management decisions might be the reason for the defeat.
However, to focus on the positives, India will now be playing the 5-match Test series against England. The event will Kickstart from August month. It would be exciting to see whether the Indian team decides to make the changes or not.
According to reports, the position of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara might be in danger. KL Rahul or Mayank Agarwal might get their chance in the longer format of the game. Hanuma Vihari can also probably get his place back in the middle order.
In the bowling unit, the trio of Ishant, Bumrah, and Shami didn’t work out pretty well in Southampton. Assessing the English conditions, the Indian side will need a pacer who can swing the ball. With this, the entry of Mohammed Siraj might come into play. Sources, as reported by News 18, stated that:
“Even if the team management intends to stick with R Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja in the eleven, Siraj will probably replace Ishant (Sharma). But he’s in, and that’s certain.”
The Indian side gave the upper hand to Ishant in the WTC final based on his experience. Apart from that, he can also fire some runs with the bat. Although Ishant has picked up an injury from that game, it would be interesting to see if he plays.
Siraj has so far played five matches in his Test career
Siraj had an excellent series against Australia before the WTC finals. The pacer has so far picked up 16 wickets in his five-match Test career. He can turn out to be India’s lead pacer if given a handful of opportunities.
