Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has offered his thoughts to solve India's selection dilemma ahead of the fourth Test against England in Manchester, scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
Handed the reins of a depleted Indian side in his maiden stint as Test captain, the 24-year-old has been tasked with breaking a 17-year drought without the experience of Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli by his side.
Opener Ben Duckett hit the most defining century of his career, exposing an out-of-depth Indian attack as England comfortably chased down a tricky target of 371 to win the opening Test by five wickets.
This isn't just a Test match - it's a test of Shubman Gill's leadership, temperament, and decision-making.
Barring Jasprit Bumrah, who got five wickets in England's first innings, none of the other bowlers looked penetrative as the hosts chased down a target of 371 with minimum fuss.
Broken foot, unbroken in spirit: Pant gives update
An injury-plagued India could be forced to depart from their preferred template when they takes on a reinvigorated England in the fourth Test starting in Manchester on Wednesday.
Sai Sudharsan made the opportunity count in his comeback game with a fifty while Rishabh Pant suffered another injury as India played the old-fashioned way to reach 264 for four at stumps on Day 1 of the fourth Test in Manchester on Wednesday.
"Just Rishabh being Rishabh": Pant's grit wins hearts as he returns to bat in Manchester Test
Drawing on his own experience, Harbhajan recalled India's bold decision to field two spinners at Headingley in 2002, when he and Anil Kumble bagged 11 wickets between them on a green top.
Soon after gently rolling his arm over in the field of play, Akash Deep cut a forlorn figure as uncapped Anshul Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna bowled full tilt at India's first outdoor training session ahead of the fourth Test.
Siraj, Krishna, Akash Shine as India's Pace Future Takes Shape
Harshit Rana has been included in the India Test squad as a cover and travelled with the rest of the team via train to reach Leeds
As India look to bounce back from the crushing defeat in the series opener against England in Leeds, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's availability for the second Test in Edgbaston, scheduled to begin on July 2, has been a hot topic of discussion.
India's net direct tax collections contracted 1.3 per cent to about 5.63 trillion as of July 10, with corporate taxes dropping 3.7 per cent and non-corporate taxes recording a fractional 0.04 per cent contraction, Income Tax department data released on Friday revealed.
How the Indian players fared in the five-Test series in England.
The Indian Test team in near future won't have any player wearing the jersey No.18 that belonged to legendary Virat Kohli for the last 14 years
It's evident that this Indian attack, even without Bumrah, has oodles of quality in it, but can they refocus on their lengths?
Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, skipper Shubman Gill were among India's Test regulars in action during the second day of the intra-squad match against India A.
India pacer Akash Deep was on Tuesday ruled out of the fourth Test against England due to a groin injury, and captain Shubman Gill said uncapped fast bowler Anshul Kamboj is close to making his debut at Old Trafford.
Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna all sweating it out in the nets -- not with the ball, but with the bat.
"He is going to be our strike bowler": Sachin Tendulkar on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of Leeds Test against England
Across five fiercely contested Tests, more than 7,000 runs were scored, including a record-equalling 21 individual centuries. Every match stretched into a gripping fifth day. The sun shone, the stands were full, and the cricket -- emotional, enthralling, and endlessly unpredictable -- captured imaginations around the world.
A superb century from Ben Duckett helped steer England to a sensational five-wicket win in the first Test against India after a thrilling day five on Tuesday.
Two fast-bowling all-rounders look to be in a battle for one spot, while a decision between Prasidh Krishna and left-armer Arshdeep Singh could be condition-dependent.
As India went into the second Test against England on Wednesday without pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, former players and coaches questioned the thinking behind resting the world's best bowler when they trail 0-1 in the series.
'When Bumrah is not bowling, we should go on the defensive and keep them all tied up.' 'Just stop the flow of runs and wickets will fall.'
India will ponder whether they want to include Washington Sundar, who is quite handy with the bat or Kuldeep Yadav, who is a much better wicket-taking option.
Joe Root produced a batting masterclass on way to a milestone 38th hundred as England exploited a jaded Indian bowling attack to stamp their dominance on the fourth Test in Manchester.
'Why let England know what's coming and what's not? Why not keep it under wraps and make them guess?'
Ravi Shastri cautions India about resting Bumrah in second Test against England
In a video shared by the BCCI on 'X', several Indian players, including skipper Gill, shared what comes to mind when they think of playing in England.
"Not make him bowl more than 12-13 overs a day": Ganguly on utilizing Bumrah on England tour
Was it an injury? A missed opportunity? Captain Shubman Gill has an explanation-but it's not one many are buying.
K L Rahul would look to make the most of his first red-ball outing in months ahead of the upcoming Test series against England.
'We won't miss Virat and Rohit. I have faith in our young team.'
'Ideally we would have wanted about 40 runs more'.
'We all know what Stokes is capable of, but it's great to have your leader being able to grab the ball like that and showing you the way sometimes.'
'There is a reason why wickets often fall after a change of bowling. It forces the batter to recalibrate. That variability isn't available to Shubman Gill with his current crop'
Former star spinner Harbhajan Singh picked Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of all-rounder Shardul Thakur for India's upcoming Boxing Day Test clash against South Africa in Centurion.
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