Follow UsIndia are behind in the five-match Test series against England, 1-2, as the hosts have their tails up after the 22-run win at Lord’s. In the aftermath of that loss, one name has certainly made the headlines, and that is Nitish Kumar Reddy.
The 22-year-old hasn’t quite made the impact with the bat in the ongoing series, with scores of 30 and 13 at Lord’s following his disastrous outing in Birmingham, where he only scored two runs in the entire Test. While his bowling has helped India, former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar wants the management to drop the all-rounder for the Manchester Test.
“I would drop Nitish Kumar Reddy and perhaps one more player to make room for Arshdeep [Singh],” Vengsarkar told RevSportz.
Not just that, alarmingly, he also wanted India to drop Washington Sundar, the off-spinner who nearly architected India to a famous win at Lord’s, with figures of 4/22.
“I think Siraj and Bumrah should keep their places, but Reddy could make way. Kuldeep Yadav could also replace someone like Washington Sundar. You need five bowlers in a Test match to win it. If your six batters can’t put up a good total, the bowlers need to take responsibility. You can’t win a Test match with part-time bowlers,” he added.
“I would pick Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav. Arshdeep is a good left-arm bowler who can move the ball in the air and off the wicket, which is crucial in English conditions. He can also reverse-swing the ball, which is important. I have seen him bowl,” Vengsarkar, who played 116 Tests for India, added.
It would be interesting to see if India make drastic changes to their playing XI, as the inclusion of Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav might weaken their batting unit, which suffered a drubbing in the first Test at Headingley.