Zainab Abbas suggests a couple of changes in Indian team for the second Test

India lost the Edgbaston Test closely by 31 runs.

Published - 04 Aug 2018, 18:40 IST | Updated - 04 Aug 2018, 18:40 IST

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Team India was close to victory but they were yet so far. The close finishes are hurting the team and it is coming down to those small mistakes made by the players. If Shikhar Dhawan wouldn’t have dropped Sam Curran when he was on 13, then probably the visitors would’ve been enjoying a cup of team with a smile on their faces. Instead, they are left with pondering over a lot ahead of the second Test. However, an ardent follower of the game, Zainab Abbas, has suggested them to make a couple of changes for the next match.

Apart from Virat Kohli, none of the batsmen looked comfortable at the crease. But what irked many was the continued failures of Shikhar Dhawan. His woes against the moving ball are well known to the world and the left-hander isn’t improving at all. Moreover, benching Cheteshwar Pujara left the Indian middle-order ever so brittle and it definitely played a part in their loss.

What are the changes?

Zainab Abbas, who was in awe of Kohli for playing a magnificent knock, wants Dhawan and Hardik Pandya to be dropped from the team. Like Dhawan, the pace-bowling all-rounder also disappointed in this game. He bowled only 10 harmless overs and scored 53 runs across two innings. He had a great chance to redeem himself in the chase, but got out off Ben Stokes and failed to steer the team to victory.

Zainab was also of the opinion that Pujara and Kuldeep Yadav should replace Dhawan and Pandya for the game at Lord’s. After India lost the game, a cricket fan asked her opinion about the team changes and she responded, “Bring in Kuldeep Yadav & Pujara for Pandya and Dhawan.”

After continued failures, India might drop the left-handed opener now to bring back the ever so solid Pujara at 3. However, it remains to be seen if they drop Pandya who gives solidity to their batting line-up. The second Test will be played from August 9.