Former Indian spinner Murali Kartik questioned India’s playing XI for the fourth Test match against England at Old Trafford. The visitors made three changes to their final XI, out of which two were forced changes due to injuries.
Sai Sudharsan made a comeback to the team in place of Karun Nair whereas Shardul Thakur replaced Nitish Kumar Reddy in the final XI after the latter was ruled out of the series due to a knee injury. Akash Deep suffered a groin injury and thus India gave a debut cap to Anshul Kamboj, who was added to India’s squad ahead of the fourth Test.
Kartik questioned Prasidh Krishna’s exclusion as the lanky pacer was part of the first two Test matches against England. Earlier, Harshit Rana was also part of India’s squad but was later released.
Kartik said on Cricbuzz, “Sudharsan came in place of Karun Nair. Akash Deep was not playing, and Anshul Kamboj got his debut. And the return of Shardul Thakur is interesting because if we see, Prasidh Krishna was still fit to play two Test matches, and now, suddenly, he does not fit in the XI. Anshul Kamboj was not a part of the squad but has been called from outside and Harshit Rana, who was in the squad, was not given the chance to play. So, it is difficult to get an idea of what message this sends.”
Meanwhile, Sai Sudharsan scored an impressive knock of 61 runs off 151 balls and Kartik said the left-hander was the star performer of the day.
“Sai Sudharsan was the performer of the day. The ball was acting up when he was on the field, batting. And batters always feel that they batted well, but they are still asked to sit out. A batter is always in a dilemma. So the way he batted deserves praise,” Karthik said.
The former left-arm orthodox spinner said Sudharsan must perform consistently while batting at one drop.
“But he must remember that if you are a No. 3 Indian batter, you must make the most of the opportunities that come your way, not leaving even the slightest of windows open for anyone to raise any questions. Hence, he will be disappointed with himself for the way he was dismissed, but he must be praised for the way he batted,” the former RCB cricketer further added.
India ended the opening day’s play at 264-4.
