After the highs of Lord’s, India crashed to an innings defeat in the third Test at Headingley as England squared the five-Test series 1-1. WV Raman acknowledged it won’t be easy for the Indian thinktank to zero in on possible changes immediately after the loss and added that it will also depend on the surface on offer at the Kennington Oval.
The Indian cohort is currently on the go, traveling from Leeds to London by train. Going by history, The Oval aids spin, as was evident when India last played a Test at the venue in 2018. The spinners picked up 16 of the 38 wickets to fall, and notably, part-time off-spinner Hanuma Vihari accounted for three of them in the third innings.
While WV Raman did agree that past events would have a bearing on current selection, he reiterated that India would go for their 4-1 seam-spin combination if the surface has any moisture in it.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Sunday was taken for precautionary scans to assess his knee injury, and chances of veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin playing his first game of the tour have increased manifold.
Does the depth in the current Indian squad lead to insecurities among players?
Since the depth of the current Indian squad is immense, it becomes difficult for incumbent players to reclaim their places after they miss out due to injury and see their replacements grab the opportunities with both hands.
The cases of Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal and even Shardul Thakur are classic examples of this reality. While it can lead to insecurities among players, WV Raman stated that the team management hasn’t really picked anyone outside of the larger group. He opined that all the players would thus be content with the fact that they could be summoned any moment.
The Oval Test is scheduled to start on Thursday (September 2) before the two sides travel to Manchester to partake in the final Test of the English summer from September 10.
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