18 July 2025: Ajinkya Rahane knows a thing or two about winning a Test series abroad. In Virat Kohli’s absence — he flew back due to personal reasons — Rahane led India to a historic Test series win in Australia in 2020-21, that too after coming back from a horrific defeat in the first Test. The veteran India batter, who still hasn’t given up on making another comeback in the Test side, is currently in England and was also present during the Lord’s Test. Rahane told India head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill, who played an important role in India’s series-clinching victory in Australia four years ago, to add an extra bowler in the XI for the remaining two Tests against England.
After losing the first Test in Heaingley, India stopped picking specialist bowlers and packed their team with all-rounders, which not only gave them bowling options but also lengthened their batting. However, this didn’t save them from a defeat at Lord’s, where despite having batting until No.9, India failed to chase down 193 but the trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar made useful contributions, making it difficult for India to drop them.
Rahane, however, still feels the need for an extra bowler to take 20 wickets. He did not specify whether he would prefer a fast bowler or a spinner but made it clear that India would need another option along with Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, and Siraj to beat England in Manchester.
“We all know that Day 4 and 5 get slightly difficult to bat on. It’s not easy to score runs. Yes, England bowled really well. But I felt India missed an opportunity to get that big score on the board in the first innings. And also, I feel going forward, India should look to add one extra bowler — because you’re going to win a Test match or a Test series by getting 20 wickets,” Rahane said on his YouTube channel.
India head coach Gambhir always believes in all-rounders. This strategy has worked wonders in T20s, but he has yet to achieve the desired results in Test cricket.
Who can be the extra bowler Rahane is talking about?
The obvious choice is Kuldeep Yadav. The important question is, in place of whom? Sundar picked up four wickets with the ball in the second innings at Lord’s and Nitish Reddy too did his job by picking up three wickets in the match.
They can also play an extra seamer but that would depend on the conditions and whether they would want to weaken their batting.
Rahane reflects on India’s defeat at Lord’s
Rahane praised Ben Stokes for a brilliant fielding effort that changed the momentum of the game. He highlighted how Stokes attacked the ball, picked it up one-handed, and threw it towards the non-striker to effect a run-out — a moment Rahane felt shifted the tide in England’s favour.
“It’s very easy for the fielder to get relaxed,” Rahane noted. “When you see only two or three balls left before lunch, you can easily get relaxed. But his attitude towards the ball, his intensity, and getting that run-out — that’s where I felt England came into the game.”
He recalled that India was cruising at around 40 for 1 at the time, but after Karun Nair’s LBW dismissal, the momentum swung. Rahane believed that was a turning point, after which England raised their game significantly. Their bowling tightened up, their fielding intensity increased, and they showed great character.
“That’s what you want to see in Test cricket — all 11 fielders coming together and looking to win the Test match,” he said.
Although India mounted a strong fightback later, Rahane credited England with their response and eventually winning the match.
Reflecting on India’s missed opportunity, Rahane said it was a match India should have won. He singled out the partnership between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the first innings as particularly impressive, saying they batted beautifully. However, he admitted that India ended up 75–100 runs short, which ultimately cost them the game.
Summary:
Ajinkya Rahane has requested Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill to include an additional bowler in India’s playing XI for the Manchester Test.