Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has opined that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma will be aware that the hosts’ batters will also struggle on turning tracks. India’s inexperienced batting unit could not chase down 231 in the second innings of the opening Test match as they lost by 28 runs.

None of the Indian batters could go past the 40-run mark in the second essay and thus it led to their downfall in the first game. The hosts’ batsmen failed to convert their scores into a substantial one.

India failed to capitalize despite being in a shoo-in position after taking a huge lead of 190 runs in the first innings. Ollie Pope scored a magnificent knock of 196 runs whereas Tom Hartley returned with figures of 7-62 in the second innings.

“India’s main plan is that they should have players who can bat till at least No. 9. When you play on a turning track, even Rohit Sharma knows that India’s batsmen will also struggle, so he wants assurance and security in the batting. The team that played in the last Test was the best playing XI. There were 5 proper bowlers, and batting till No. 9,” Kaif said in an interview with Times of India.

“But in the next match it will be difficult to fill in the void created by Jadeja’s absence, so Washington Sundar can also be considered because if Kuldeep Yadav plays then the batting will only be till No. 8. But I think because Kuldeep is already there in the squad, he will get the nod ahead of Sundar,” he went on to add.

Indian batters will need to come up with a better performance in the second Test. The second Test match between India and England will be played at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam from 2nd February.