The Indian team has relied mostly on their core team in the India vs England series so far; the management has been stubborn in believing in only their antics and has lent no ear to what others have to say.
However, Gautam Gambhir‘s usual tactics, which work well with the Indian white-ball side, have faded away to limited success in the red-ball format. Hence, now trailing in the series, they had to opt for a few changes in the playing 11.
India have dropped the likes of Karun Nair from the playing 11 after he has underperformed with the willow and is currently the weakest limb in the Indian batting lineup in the series. Sai Sudharsan has been picked for his second Test since making his debut at Leeds.
India play with five left-handers for the first time in Test history
India have picked Yashasvi Jaiswal as the usual opener on the side alongside KL Rahul, who remains the first left-handed batter in the Indian lineup. Coming in at no. 3 is young Sai Sudharsan, who has been included in the playing 11.
After the two top-order batters, India’s vice-captain and dynamic left-handed batter Rishabh Pant emerges as the third such batter in the side. Further down the order, they will have the services of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar as the two left-handed all-rounders, who have been of great help to the Indian batting lineup.
First time India is playing 5 Left-handed batters in a Test match
Jaiswal
Sudharsan
Pant
Jadeja
Washington— Krishna Kumar (@KrishnaKRM) July 23, 2025
Karun Nair dropped; Is this the end of his second innings with India
India has finally made the call to drop Karun Nair from the Indian Test 11 for the fourth Test. Karun Nair, the 33-year-old batter, was picked by India after a successful domestic season.
Coming to England, he even impressed in the practice game against the England Lions, where he scored a mammoth 204 runs with the bat. However, he could not make an impact in the main series.
Karun, playing for India, has scored 131 runs in 6 innings and has the highest score of 40 in the three tests, with the first match played as a no. 6 batter and the next two as a batter at no. 3. He has an average of less than 22, with scores of 0, 20, 31, 26, 40 and 14.
This might mark the end of his second innings in the Indian Test side for Karun Nair, as he was picked after a gap of 8 years into the Indian Test side.
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Indian openers start well after England shockingly opt to bowl first on a flatter track
Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul have given India a solid start in the current match at Manchester after England opted to bowl on a flat track with some probable tactics in their head.
KL Rahul looked solid from the very first ball; however, Yashasvi Jaiswal had to opt for a higher defensive work rate before he could break the shackles and start scoring some runs, with some good shots as well as luck favouring him on some occasions.
India ended the first session without losing a wicket as they went 78/0 when lunch was called. England gave away just 2 extras as Jaiswal was on 36 and KL Rahul on 40 at Lunch on day 1.
