Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 4 (ANI): Forward of India’s one-off Take a look at towards Afghanistan, former Indian cricketer Saba Karim stated that despite the fact that the match will not be part of the ICC World Take a look at Championship cycle, India will deal with it as an necessary recreation as they’ve issues to repair their batting and bowling woes within the longest format, particularly in residence circumstances, the place they’ve misplaced their long-lasting dominance.
India will tackle Afghanistan in a one-off Take a look at from June 6 onwards at New Chandigarh. This comes after the Males in Blue suffered a 0-2 clear sweep loss to South Africa at residence final 12 months, marking back-to-back sequence whitewashes in two years in a row, after a 0-3 whitewash loss to New Zealand in 2024, which marked the tip of India’s 12-year unbeaten streak at residence.
In the course of the previous few years, Crew India has been let down by the efficiency of its batters towards spin and with the retirements of Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara final 12 months, they’re dealing with a interval of transition. India’s quantity three revolving door has not been solved both, with Sudharsan amassing simply 302 runs in 11 innings in six Exams at a mean of 27.45, with two fifties.
Talking on JioStar, JioStar skilled Saba Karim stated, ‘Sure, this Take a look at match towards Afghanistan will not be a part of the WTC cycle, however India will deal with it as an necessary recreation. It provides them an opportunity to repair the issues they’ve confronted in each batting and bowling. India has reached a stage the place they should significantly work on their Take a look at cricket, particularly in residence circumstances, the place they haven’t been as dominant as earlier than.’
Karim additionally stated that the Take a look at match is a perfect platform for selectors to check out new mixtures and children. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested, with Mohammed Siraj set to function a tempo spearhead with Prasidh Krishna, uncapped teen Gurnoor Brar and Nitish Kumar Reddy as tempo bowling choices. Additionally, Devdutt Padikkal, who had a sensational home season final 12 months and an IPL-winning marketing campaign with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) this 12 months, is an alternative choice for quantity three.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja can be lacking this one-off Take a look at, with uncapped spin bowling all-rounders Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey within the squad.
‘I believe this Take a look at supplies a perfect platform for the selectors and the workforce administration to check out new mixtures and check younger gamers. Thrilling younger skills have been picked within the squad. Performing right here will give them the boldness to be chosen for future sequence, together with the large residence sequence towards Australia. When you take a look at the place Indian Take a look at cricket stands right this moment, this match is a superb alternative. It’s not nearly profitable; it’s about constructing a workforce for the long run,’ he added.
India Take a look at squad vs Afghanistan: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel. (ANI)
