No Bumrah & Kuldeep: Team India Coach Hints at Major Changes in Playing XI in 2nd Test

ENG vs IND: After going down in Leeds, the Indian team will be looking to bounce back by winning the second Test in Birmingham, starting July 2. From poor fielding to batting collapses to inconsistent bowling, plenty of factors contributed to India’s five-wicket defeat in the series opener.

Ahead of the second Test, Ryan ten Doeschate, Team India’s assistant coach, has hinted at a couple of major changes in India’s playing XI. Much has been written about Jasprit Bumrah being rested from the second Test to manage his workload, but besides his omission, we could be up for two more changes.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the former Dutch international hinted at the inclusion of two all-rounders – Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar.

The report, based on happenings from Team India’s nets session, claims that left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, the only specialist spinner in the squad, is most likely to be left out once again.

Ravindra Jadeja was the lone spinner in the previous game. Watching him extract considerable turn from the surface on the final day of the Test match, many experts felt that Team India should bring Kuldeep Yadav in for the next match, as he, being a wrist-spinner, could turn the ball, regardless of the surface.

However, it seems the team management thinks differently, prioritising the strengthening of their batting lineup over fixing the bowling loopholes.

The likely inclusion of Nitish Kumar Reddy, whom Doeschate describes as a batting all-rounder, affirms the point that Gambhir’s bigger concern is the batting department, not the bowling.

“There is a very strong chance of playing two spinners. It’s just which two we play. All three spinners are bowling very nicely, while Washy is batting very nicely. So it is just about what combination,” said ten Doeschate.

“Do we go with an all-rounder spinner or a spinner? Then obviously you have to play the bowling all-rounder. So there’s so many different variables. The wicket’s got 11mm grass on the pitch at the moment but it is quite dry underneath but there’s also rain forecast for Wednesday.

“So again, we are trying to weigh the two options attacking-wise. But I’m pretty sure two spinners will play in this Test match,” he explained.

India’s Probable Playing XI for 2nd Test:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant(vc), Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Akashdeep