Ex-India opener warns Gill and Co against over-dependence on all-rounders in England: 'We got a learning from the BGT...'

Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra warned the Shubman Gill-led Indian team against obsessing over all-rounders in the upcoming five-match Test series in England while emphasising on having four frontline seam options in the playing XI, with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy potentially coming in as the fifth seamer.

Chopra warns India against obsessing over all-rounders

Chopra cited the example of the recent tour of Australia, where India ended up surrendering the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 3-1 series loss, as an example of why over-dependence on all-rounders can go wrong for the team.

“We got a learning from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that if you get a little obsessed about the batting and play batters who can bowl and choose bowlers who can bat, then you are just going down the wrong path,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“So I am thinking you should have a minimum of three proper fast bowlers. The fourth fast bowler could be Shardul Thakur for sure, if you wish, and then you can have Nitish Kumar Reddy as the fifth bowler and Ravindra Jadeja as the sixth bowler. So you have plenty of bowling options, but the batting is not compromised,” he added.

Picking four frontline seam options to challenge the Ben Stokes-led home team and try and prise out 20 wickets will be quite the challenge for Gill and Co in the upcoming series. Especially since senior pacer Mohammed Shami has been overlooked for the series and Jasprit Bumrah isn’t likely to play more than three matches due to the back injury that he had suffered towards the end of the Australia tour.

Also Read | Sarfaraz impresses with century as Bumrah goes wicketless on Day 2 of India vs India A match

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee have instead picked Arshdeep Singh, who has already made a name for himself in T20 format and has also been impressive in the 50-over game, as well as Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur in addition to established names such as Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Nair could bat at No 6, feels Chopra

Chopra also felt Karun Nair, who has earned a Test recall after eight years, could bat as low as No 6 in order with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja coming in at 7 in order to shore up India’s batting order, which will then likely lead to a toss-up between Reddy and Thakur for the fourth seamer’s slot.

“Otherwise, you can go the route of keeping Karun Nair at No. 6, Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7, and then go with four fast bowlers. That could be another thought process where Shardul Thakur won’t be among the four fast bowlers, and you go with four proper fast bowlers.

“It will be worth watching how this era proceeds in Shubman Gill’s captaincy, because when you have even slightly less experience in batting, you are tempted to play an additional batter since enough runs aren’t being scored. The Headingley match will decide what our thought process will be,” the 47-year-old added.

Also Read | India’s ideal batting lineup for first Test against England: Who will make the cut?

The five-match Test series between India and England gets underway on 20 June at Headingley, Leeds, and will mark the beginning of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle for both teams.

India have not won a Test series on English soil since the Rahul Dravid-led side won a three-match Test series 1-0 in 2007.