IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Inexperienced India to clash with England in Rajkot

India’s Rajat Patidar (left), Yashasvi Jaiswal (second from left), Dhruv Jurel (second from right), Sarfaraz Khan (right) at a practice session in Rajkot on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

India go into the third Test against England here today facing their greatest challenge in recent times. It's because they have a very raw batting line-up in the absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. Only skipper Rohit Sharma with 56 Tests and Shubman Gill with 22 have substantial experience. Considering England skipper Ben Stokes is set to play his 100th Test and Joe Root already has over 100 caps, the difference in numbers is huge. But that does not mean England start favourites. Though they had won the first Test after a great comeback, the home team with their experienced bowling unit will be favourites.

In the absence of Kohli and Rahul, India will be forced to play at least one debutant, if not two. There is a strong possibility that Mumbaikar Sarfaraz Khan may finally get the chance to represent India in Test cricket after scoring tons of runs in domestic cricket. He also struck a huge hundred recently against England Lions in Ahmedabad. He needs to score some big runs in international cricket immediately as he may not get too many chances once the stalwarts return.

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R Ashwin

There is also talk of Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel being picked in place of KS Bharat, who has struggled with the bat in the seven Tests he has played. With the Indian batting looking thin, Jurel could come in handy as he can add a few crucial runs on the board. The choice here is between Bharat's wicketkeeping versus a few extra runs that Jurel can contribute.

When fit-again Ravindra Jadeja was asked if the team management was concerned about the lack of experience of the top batters, which collectively is less than 100 Tests, he said: "They have been playing domestic cricket with great success for a long time. They know how to play a long innings in red-ball cricket and build an innings. Moreover, it's good that they are getting an opportunity on home soil, in the conditions they are used to. They need to grab the opportunity with both hands," Jadeja said at the pre-match media interaction.

There is thus little doubt that we are in for another thrilling game over the next five days at a venue which was named after Niranjan Shah, a renowned Saurashtra
Cricket Association administrator, last evening.