TimesofIndia.com in Birmingham: All-rounder duo of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar are likely to play the Edgbaston Test, starting from Wednesday.
It could well mean India will drop a specialist batter and will go with three all-rounders at No 6, 7, 8.
On Tuesday, Team India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate hinted at inclusion of Reddy and Washington.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!"On Nitish is very close to getting a game. Obviously, he was fantastic in Australia. Coming into the team and playing the way he did," ten Doeschate said on Reddy.
"We just felt on balance for the last game, we wanted to go with the bowling all-rounder, which we thought Shardul was slightly ahead on the bowling front.
"We’re looking at ways of rejigging the puzzle so we can get a batting all-rounder in. And obviously, Nitish is our premium batting all-rounder at the moment. So I would say it’s a very good chance to play this Test," he added.
Ten Doeschate, too had spoken about playing two spinners and having a batting depth in the lower-middle order, pointing towards Washington's ability to bat.
"All three spinners are bowling very nicely, while Washi is batting very nicely. So it is just about what combination.
"Do we go with an all-rounder spinner or a spinner? Then obviously you have to play the bowling all-rounder. So there’s so many different variables.
"The wicket’s got 11mm grass on the pitch at the moment but it is quite dry underneath but there’s also rain forecast for Wednesday.
So again, we are trying to weigh the two options attacking-wise. But I’m pretty sure two spinners will play in this Test match."
Meanwhile, on the eve of the second Test between India and England, Team India captain Shubman Gill made it clear that India will go with two spinners, citing the dry condition and hot weather in Birmingham.
“In the previous match, if we had had an extra spinner in the fourth innings, the game could have been better,” Gill told reporters.
“There were some patches in the wicket that could have been exploited. Whenever Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) bhai was bowling, chances were being created," he said.
"I guess you would want batting depth till No. 7... and if your No. 8 can bat a little bit. If you are going till No. 9, it is difficult to take 20 wickets. If we are able to go with four or five premier bowlers and have our batting till No. 7 or 8, it would be a good combination," he added.
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