The Indian team management made as many as three changes in the playing XI for the second Test match against England, to level the score in Birmingham, having lost the series opener by five wickets in Leeds last month.
On Tuesday, India captain Shubman Gill revealed in the pre-match presser that fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was available to be selected for the second test. But despite requests from most experts, including former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who warned that it might cost the visitors, the present management decided to rest the 31-year-old to manage his workload and keep him fit and well-rested for the third game at Lord’s.
“Just to manage his workload. We did get a good break and this is an important match for us. But the third Test being at Lord’s, we think there’ll be more in that pitch so we’ll use him there,” explained Gill after losing the toss. Akash Deep was picked as Bumrah’s replacement in the playing XI.
This is a huge gamble from India, especially after Bumrah was the only fast bowler to trouble the English batters in Leeds, having picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings, while his fellow quicks struggled to find the right length. The lack of support across the two innings even drew criticism from experts.
Sai Sudharsan dropped!
India brutally dropped Sai Sudharsan, who made his debut in Leeds and batted at No. 3, from the playing XI to add more depth to the pace-bowling unit with the addition of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. This implies Karun Nair will bat at a higher position.
India also added a second spinner to the playing XI, with Washington Sundar replacing Shardul Thakur. While Kuldeep Yadav was backed for the role, especially amid the talks around Bumrah likely to be rested for the Edgbaston Test, Gill explained that Sundar was picked to strengthen the lower-order batting line-up after its failure majorly contributed to India’s loss in Leeds.
“We were tempted to play Kuldeep but looking at the last match, our lower order didn’t do well, so decided to add some depth to the batting,” he said.
England won the toss and opted to bowl first in Birmingham.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
