Former England batter Michael Atherton has sounded the alarm bells for India after multiple senior players of the team were forced to miss matches of the going Test series. After superstar Virat Kohli and veteran pacer Mohammed Shami were ruled out of the opening two matches of the Test series between India and England, Rohit Sharma's brigade was dealt a double blow with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and star batter KL Rahul missing the ongoing second Test due to their respective injuries.
The injuries to the two marquee players couldn't have come at a worse time as India trail 0-1 in the ongoing series after losing the first Test against England in Hyderabad.
With big players not part of the Indian squad due to contrasting reasons, Atherton reckons that England have a solid chance of extending their lead and consolidating their position in the ongoing series.
"Such an outcome, so unexpected and so unbelievable given where both teams were after the first innings, must have a huge psychological impact, especially given the quick turnaround and the injuries to two of India's key players, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul. England have an excellent chance of building on their lead," Atherton wrote in his column for The Times.
Troubled times for Team India
According to Atherton, India are without their two most valuable players. The ex-England batter rated Virat Kohli as the most valuable while he touted Jadeja as the second-most valuable player for India. Atherton also underlined that the replacements for Jadeja in particular don't add the same stability to the Indian playing XI.
"India are not only 1-0 down, but are faced with rare uncertainty over the shape and balance of their team. Suddenly, it looks full of potential weaknesses. Jadeja is India's second-most valuable cricketer after Virat Kohli. He (Jadeja) has a fine record as an all-rounder – the differential in batting and bowling averages places him in the highest rank – and that balances the team beautifully," Atherton opined.
"Washington Sundar, the off-spinning all-rounder who was called into the squad this week, weakens the bowling; Saurabh Kumar, the left-arm all-rounder, weakens the batting, as would Kuldeep Yadav's wrist spin. All the problems lie with India," he added.hird youngest
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