The India and England teams are currently competing in the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham. England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bowl first. The home team has retained the same XI, while India has made three changes.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep have been brought into the side. Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for this match.
All-rounder Shardul Thakur has been dropped, and Sai Sudharsan, who debuted in the previous Test, was left out for Edgbaston after failing to make a significant impact with the bat in the opening game at Leeds.
Shubman Gill Explains Why Kuldeep Yadav Was Omitted from India’s Second Test Squad Against England
During the toss for the second Test, India captain Shubman Gill clarified that Kuldeep Yadav was not selected as the team aimed to strengthen their batting depth, particularly after the lower-order struggled in the previous match.
“We considered playing Kuldeep, but after observing the last game where our lower order didn’t perform well, we decided to bolster the batting lineup,” Gill explained.
“No Bumrah this time, just to manage his workload. We had a good break, and this match is important for us. With the third Test at Lord’s, where we expect the pitch to offer more, we plan to include him then,” he added.
There had been speculation that Kuldeep Yadav might be included to strengthen India’s spin attack, but Washington Sundar was preferred in the spin department for this match. England currently lead the five-match series 1-0 after winning the opening Test by five wickets.
India’s playing XI for the second Test is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.