Edited by Deepali Verma
Former Indian cricket team spinner Harbhajan Singh has laid out huge changes regarding the bowling attack as he picked the playing XI for the second Test match against England starting February 2. Harbhajan believes that Sarfaraz Khan should be handed his Test debut in the absence of KL Rahul while all-rounder Washington Sundar replaces the injured Ravindra Jadeja. Moreover, he advised Rohit Sharma to go with four spinners in the bowling department with Kuldeep Yadav replacing Mohammed Siraj, meaning that Jasprit Bumrah will be playing as the only specialist pacer in the team as picked by the former Indian cricket team star.
“Sarfaraz, in my view, should be played at No. 5 as he has been scoring a lot of runs in domestic cricket and even for India A in the matches against England Lions,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
Harbhajan remarked that the decision to play Kuldeep Yadav or Mohammed Siraj depends on how the wicket is in Visakhapatnam. The suggestions of the reports are such that the track can be friendly to spinners and in that case, Harbhajan thinks that Kuldeep should be added keeping his World Cup form in mind.
“No. 11 should be Kuldeep Yadav because he has the variations and can also turn the ball in both directions. His recent performance was extremely good in the World Cup. If the team is willing to add an extra spinner, the team should definitely consider Kuldeep Yadav. If the wicket has something, play Siraj, however if it is a turning track, play Kuldeep as the fourth spinner,” explained Harbhajan.
Harbhajan Singh’s India playing XI for second Test match against England includes Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, KS Bharat, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav/Mohammed Siraj.
