Former Indian fast bowler Varun Aaron believes Nitish Kumar Reddy should replace Shardul Thakur in the second Test match against England. While Thakur failed to impress at Leeds, Headingley with both bat and ball, Reddy had done a good job down the order on the Australian tour.
Thakur was dismissed after scoring a single run when he went for a booming drive but could only find an outside edge. The right-hander could only manage four runs in the second essay.
Surprisingly, Gill gave only six overs to Thakur, in which he conceded 38 runs and went wicketless in England’s first innings. The right-arm medium pacer picked two wickets in the second essay but he was expensive once again.
On the other hand, NKR had scored a brilliant century against Australia while playing away.
The former lanky pacer, Aaron, wants India to play Akash Deep if Jasprit Bumrah is rested to manage his workload.
“One change will definitely be there. If Bumrah doesn’t play, in my opinion, Akash Deep should play because Akash Deep has the ability to pitch the ball up and nibble it both ways. If Bumrah is unable to recover, Akash Deep is a good option. (Mohammed) Siraj will play for sure. Siraj will be the main bowler of the attack if Bumrah doesn’t play,” Varun Aaron said on Star Sports show Game Plan.
“I feel they will play Nitish Kumar Reddy in Shardul’s place because, most importantly, they need Nitish Kumar Reddy’s batting as Shardul didn’t bowl that much. Nitish Kumar Reddy can also bowl as much as Shardul, but he will definitely give more runs in batting. I feel they won’t tamper with the bowling too much,” he added.
Aaron noted that former Indian captain Virat Kohli had the cushion of playing four fast bowlers as he had batters like Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
“When Virat Kohli was the captain, they had Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in the middle order, three legendary batters, so Virat Kohli had the cushion to play four fast bowlers. This Indian team does not have that cushion,” he replied.
Aaron said Shubman Gill doesn’t have the same cushion and thus Nitish Kumar Reddy should be added to the playing XI.
“The middle order hasn’t functioned properly, not just in one match, but for the last one year. So Shubman Gill doesn’t have that cushion. Shubman Gill needs cushion in batting. So, definitely, they will play Reddy, and the bowlers will have to do their job,” Aaron observed.
The second Test match between India and England will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 2nd onwards.
