Can India Get A Fit Playing Eleven By Edgbaston Test?

The focus of attention for all the Indian cricket fans, once again, will now be on the fitness of the Indian team. Down 0-2 and with only two Tests to play, the Indians have a mountain to climb, but to do that, they need to be both, fit and have a healthy dose of oxygen. It remains to be seen whether they are able to achieve that in the nine-day break before the start of the third game.

Zaheer Khan had begun to get into the thick of things by bowling in the nets but if the experts are to be believed, he should not be risked in the third Test unless he can prove his match fitness in the tour game against Northampton. Even that would only give us a very slight peek at how he feels but one thing is for sure – if he fails to last the warm-up game or if he does not feature in that practice game, the Indians would be foolhardy to try him for the third Test.

Harbhajan Singh is the other bowler, who broke down in the middle of the game. But Harbhajan’s issue is not restricted to his fitness alone. His form has been on the wane for far too long and while it did not show up when India was winning, it has now begun to emerge as one of the reasons behind the Indian losses.

Even if Harbhajan gets fit by the time of the third Test match, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to take in Amit Mishra as his replacement. Interestingly, if Zaheer Khan can prove his fitness, and those are long odds, who will he replace in the side, will be the question to answer. All the three pace bowlers, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma and S Sreesanth have done well and it may not be such a bad idea to go in with four seamers. Zaheer, in that case, could come into the side in place of Harbhajan.

The good news for the Indians, though, is that Gautam Gambhir should be fit by the next game. To top it, Virender Sehwag, one of the most destructive opening batsmen in the world cricket, could also get to England by tomorrow, though, his fitness is still a matter of concern. The best scenario for India would be for both, Sehwag and Gambhir to walk out at the top, replacing Abhinav Mukund and Yuavraj Singh in the side.

If Sehwag, however, fails to regain fitness by the time of the third Test match, it will be an interesting choice to be made for the management – who does Gambhir replace in the side. Mukund is the frontline opener but has barely looked a part. Yuvraj does not open the innings, but did well in the first innings with a half century and is much more experienced.

If Mukund is dropped, India will have to open with Rahul Dravid, who gets the best out of himself at the number three position. India cannot afford to lose Dravid early, as it could result in something similar to what happened in the second innings at Trent Bridge.

For now, India have far too many questions and barely any answers on the selection. Team strategy, something that the side isn’t doing too well at, as well, will come for later.