3 Players who can help India win the 4th Test against England

After a disappointing loss at Lord’s, the Indian team will face England in the penultimate Test in Manchester that will start on Wednesday, July 23. However, there is a history attached to this venue that the Shubman Gill-led side might not like.

India have played nine matches in Manchester so far and have lost on four occasions, while the remaining matches have ended in draw. India are yet to record a win at the venue. India’s last Test in Manchester was back in 2014, and only Ravindra Jadeja from that squad remains a part of the current team.

Hence, it will be a completely different environment for almost the entire playing 11 in this match. This is not the first time India has been in such a situation in the series. The odds were against them when they reached Edgbaston for the second Test. However, the team managed to breach the fortress and handed England a comprehensive 336-run loss. 

Here are 3 players who can help India win the fourth Test against England:

3. Shubman Gill

The skipper has already done things for his team that no other batter has done in the past. He is the only the second batter to have scored over 600 runs in a Test series in England after Rahul Dravid (602 runs in 2002). Gill is 167 runs away from reaching Sunil Gavaskar’s record (774) and scoring the most number of runs in a series by an Indian batter.

For India to do well, Gill needs to be in the best of his shape with the bat. His total score of 22 runs in the third Test was also one of the reasons why India struggled at Lord’s. If Gill manages to do what he did in the second Test, India might level the series.

2. KL Rahul

Rahul is the third-highest run-scorer in the series for India and has amassed 375 runs at an average of 62.50. In the previous Test, he became only the second Indian batter to score more than one century at Lord’s. For India to do well in the series, Rahul needs to play a knock of a lifetime, and the next Test is the perfect venue for him.

Since his debut in 2014, no other Indian opener has scored more runs than Rahul. Also, no other opener has made more centuries in Test cricket than Rahul since his debut. He needs 11 runs to become only the fourth Indian batter to score more than 1000 runs in England after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar.

1. Kuldeep Yadav

If India have to make a comeback in the upcoming game, they must bring in Kuldeep Yadav. He can either replace Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington Sundar in the playing 11. The argument that Kuldeep can’t bat does not stand, considering the two all-rounders have not performed with the bat and have still been in the playing 11.

Kuldeep has played 13 Test matches since making his debut in 2017 and has taken 56 wickets at an average of 22.16. He, along with Ravindra Jadeja, can form a spin attack that can help India a lot in the remaining two matches.