“He did look a bit tentative” – Michael Atherton on under-fire KS Bharat ahead of the 3rd India vs England Test

Former England captain Michael Atherton has pointed out that India wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat has failed to deliver with the willow amid uncertainty over his place in the team, ahead of the third Test in Rajkot, which starts on February 15.

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that Bharat looked ‘tentative’ during the second innings for India in the previous Test at Visakhapatnam. The 55-year-old, however, lauded Bharat for his excellent wicketkeeping in the first two Tests.

Atherton told Sky Cricket:

“I think he’s kept really well [on KS Bharat] and one of the highlights of the two games, the keepers on both teams, Ben Foakes, obviously, been outstanding for England."

"Bharat has kept well for India, but he’s scored the runs. He did look a bit tentative in that second innings at Vishakhapatnam when India were kind of ahead of the game,” he added.

For the unversed, Bharat has returned with scores of 41 (81), 28 (59), 17 (23), and 6 (28) in the first two Tests against England. With 92 runs in four innings, he has scored more than India captain Rohit Sharma (90) and his English counterpart Ben Foakes (80).

Atherton further pointed out that the new World No.1 Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah will once again prove crucial for the hosts on a traditional batting-friendly pitch in Rajkot. He believes that the speedster would only be rested after the third Test:

“Rajkot has a reputation for being one of the flatter pitches, doesn’t it? Only had a couple of Test matches and I think there have been nine individual hundreds scored in those two Tests," he said.

"High-scoring games… three England batters getting hundreds. On that basis, that’s actually when you want your cracker-jack bowler [Bumrah] who can open up a game if the conditions are flat,” Atherton added.

During their last Test in Rajkot (2016), four England batters - Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and, Sir Alastair Cook - scored centuries. For India, Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara crossed the three-figure mark as the match ended in a draw.

Bumrah, meanwhile, has bagged 15 wickets, including nine wickets at Visakhapatnam, in the first two Tests of the series. He will now look to continue his sublime form against the visitors.

---

“You don’t have to look at his strike rate” – Ian Bell on Joe Root ahead of India vs England Rajkot Test

Former England batter Ian Bell, meanwhile, has suggested under-fire Joe Root stick to conventional cricket in the Bazball era. Bell believes that Root is one of the best players in the world because of his ability to rotate strikes.

He said o the same show as Atherton:

“My personal opinion is – I want Joe Root to just be Joe Root. He’s the best player when he is on his own, he’s the best player in the world."

"One thing with Joe, you don’t have to look at his strike rate anyway. When he plays normally, he would score at such a rate. He’s the best at rotating strikes, hard to get dots on. So, just be the best version of him,” Bell continued.

Bell’s comments came as Root returned with scores of 29 (60), 2 (6), 5 (10), and 16 (10) in the first two Tests against India.

Meanwhile, former England skipper Nasser Hussain believes that injured Jack Leach’s absence is a blow to England since the visitors can’t miss any of the three spinners due to any injury or illness ahead of the third Test.

The cricketer-turned-commentator said:

“It is a huge blow for him [Jack Leach]. You want your senior spinner if India presses the panic button and prepares two real turning pitches or maybe at Ranchi or Dharamsala might go through."

Hussain, however, backed Tom Harley (14 wickets in two Tests), Rehan Ahmed (8 scalps in two Tests) and Shoaib Bashir (four dismissals in the second game) to keep up the good work.

"So, you want your senior spinner, but England’s three young spinners have done very well and at times, statistically, have out-bowled their senior spinners in the opposition. And, stokes has a lot of trust in three spinners,” he stated.

Leach has been ruled out of the Test series against India after failing to recover from a knee injury. The left-arm spinner damaged his left knee while diving to stop at the boundary. In doing so, he collided with the ground during the first Test in Hyderabad.

With the series tied 1-1, the two teams will now be keen to take a lead in the five-match Test series.