England vs India 2018: Probable Indian Playing XI for the Third Test

Wicket Keeper: Rishabh Pant

Karthik had a dismal outing with the bat and Rishabh Pant may take his place in the eleven

Dinesh Karthik was drafted in the Indian Test squad after the Nidahas Trophy heroics and a decent IPL season for KKR. But with scores of 0, 20, 1 and 0, he has not justified his selection one bit and his wicket keeping skills also seem to be below par.

The fact that he has not played Test cricket for India for a long period of time (barring the test against Afghanistan) doesn't help his cause either. India would certainly be tempted to remove him from the playing eleven and give an opportunity to Rishabh Pant who had an excellent Ranji season and a decent performance in the 3-day practice game against Essex.

Pant's fearless attitude could be a blessing in disguise for India for the next three Tests and the fact that he is a left-handed batsman favours his selection. A fearless left-handed batsman down the order can help boost the scoring rate to a certain extent and the talented youngster is certainly a good pick at No.6 for India.