India Should Consider Varun Aaron, Ravichandran Ashwin for Fourth Test vs England: Sunil Gavaskar
With the series tied 1-1 and India skipper MS Dhoni facing a selection headaches on the eve of the fourth Test, Sunil Gavaskar tells NDTV what he feels should be the best playing XI for Team India.
With Lord's Test hero Ishant Sharma still out with an injury and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's availability hanging in the balance, former India skipper and NDTV expert Sunil Gavaskar suggested India should consider playing speedster Varun Aaron and ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the fourth Test against England starting this Thursday at Old Trafford. (Five talking points ahead of Old Trafford Test)
Gavaskar was of the opinion that India should field their best combination and emphasised on the need to pick 20 wickets in the fourth Test if MS Dhoni & Co. wished to get revenge after a humiliating defeat at Southampton. (Anderson need not change change aggressive style: Cook)
"We need to play our best bowling attack. When touring teams come to India, they don't just pick spinners because Indian picthes are going to turn. They still pick the bowlers that they believe are going to take five wickets or more in an innings. (Also read: Blow for India as ICC rejects BCCI review petition)
Rohit Sharma did get a wicket in Southampton and Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay have turned their arms over usefully. But I do believe that India now needs to look at taking 20 wickets." (India should get over Jadeja-Anderson spat: Gavaskar to NDTV)
Talking about Ashwin, who is yet to feature in the five-Test series, Gavaskar said, " Ashwin is pretty handy with the bat as well. Don't forget he has got two hundreds in Test cricket. If he comes up, I don't think the team is going to be weakened, I don't think the batting is going to be too weakened but certainly the bowling will get a little stronger," he added.
Gavaskar also felt Varun Aaron's extra pace could help India in the upcoming Test.
"If Bhuvneshwar is not there, I think he (Dhoni) would be looking at Varun Aaron for the extra pace he brings. Mohammed Shami and Pankaj Singh can get the ball to move around. Aaron does bring a little extra pace and maybe that can make a difference."
The series is currently tied at 1-1 with two more Tests to be played.