After the Pune Test debacle, rumour mills are abuzz that the top brass has asked Indian skipper Virat Kohli to drop two his crucial cogs, Ishant Sharma and all-rounder Jayant Yadav. Tough there is nothing officially on the record, but whispers have been making the rounds. The loss also brought an end to Virat Kohli’s 19-Test dream run. More than that the way India surrendered to Australia in their own backyard is what will worry team India most ahead of the Bengaluru battle.
Speaking to the media, former captain of India Mohammad Azharuddin said, “Any batting debacle leaves a team on the backfoot. I am not saying series is lost but one needs to look at the kind of track that you want to play. I reckon Chinnaswamy won’t have this kind of turn. So my gut feeling is that Jayant Yadav and Ishant Sharma may be dropped from the playing XI”.
His entire idea centered around playing that extra batsman, probably an in-form Karun Nair would fit the bill perfectly.
Talking of the conditions and Indian spinners, Azhar said, “I think a similar pitch was prepared when Michael Clarke got his 6 for 9 in Mumbai. This was a bad pitch to bat on. But I am not at all happy with how the spinners bowled on a track like this — especially Ravindra Jadeja”.
One has to admit that the former skipper has made some really interesting observations current captain Virat Kohli could ponder on and use a few of them.
