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‘I would drop Nitish and bring…’: Harbhajan doesn't mince his words, calls for huge change in India XI for fourth Test
Harbhajan Singh had a word of advice for India head coach Gautam Gambhir, urging him to drop Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Trailing 1-2 in the ongoing five-match series, India need to pick the perfect playing XI for the upcoming fourth Test in Manchester, scheduled to begin on July 23. There has been question marks over Nitish Kumar Reddy’s form lately, and he has put in mixed performances in the series so far. At Edgbaston, he got two single-digit scores, and also remained wicketless.
At the Lord’s Test, he got two key breakthroughs in his first over, and also took another wicket in the second innings. Meanwhile, his umimpressive performances with the bat continued, as he got 30 in the first innings. Then he got 13 in the run chase as India crumbled to a 22-run defeat.
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'Replace Nitish Kumar Reddy with…': Harbhajan Singh
Speaking to India Today, former India player Harbhajan Singh had a suggestion for head coach Gautam Gambhir, urging him to replace Nitish with Kuldeep Yadav.
“I had said before the Lord's Test and also for the Birmingham Test that Kuldeep should play. Because the kind of free flowing batting these Englishmen do, it is not that easy to him. If such a spinner spins it both sides, then he can become a mystery bowler and take wickets at crucial times,” he said.
“In Test cricket, it is not just that they are waiting for the new ball. Let a few overs be bowled. If nothing much is happening, then Kuldeep Yadav can take wickets. If it was my team, I would drop Nitish and bring Kuldeep directly in the team,” he added.
There were plenty of question marks on the Indian team after their defeat in the third Test. The top order collapsed in the run-chase, when the target looked easy to achieve. Meanwhile, all-rounders Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy failed to support Ravindra Jadeja in the middle. Jadeja was left alone and had to forge partnerships with the tailenders, and remained unbeaten at 61*.
