The Indian team management made three changes to their playing XI for the second Test of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, and Sai Sudharsan gave way to Akash Deep, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar. However, Kuldeep Yadav was once again unable to make the cut.
Fans and commentators had urged the Indian side to play the left-arm wrist spinner in the second Test, which began on Wednesday, July 3, at Edgbaston, Birmingham, following Ravindra Jadeja’s poor performance in the series opener. However, Shubman Gill stated before the toss that he needed extra batting cover. While Sundar’s inclusion at No. 8 adds depth to the tourists’ batting lineup, Kuldeep’s addition may have provided a different and more aggressive dimension to their bowling unit.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan says India played it safe by leaving out Kuldeep, who he believes could have taken six to seven wickets in the Edgbaston Test, especially given the dry surface.
“Not playing Kuldeep Yadav is a safe choice.
They have not chosen a bowler who, in my opinion, is capable of taking six or seven wickets in a Test match. You need to obtain 20. The pitch is fairly dry. Surely you must play a leg-spinner. “I believe India chose a safe option,” he stated on Sony Sports Network.
According to Vaughan, India’s first Test defeat at Headingley, Leeds, was not due to their batting. Instead of beefing up the batting resources and playing it safe, the cricketer-turned-expert believes India should have grabbed the bull by the horns and gone all in on Kuldeep.
“When a team falls behind and starts losing, you start playing it conservatively. The only way to break your losing streak is to go for it and take chances. I think this is a pretty safe choice. It might work, and they might bat brilliantly. It wasn’t the batting that was the issue at Headingley,” he explained.
England won the toss on Wednesday and opted to bowl first. Chris Woakes bowled brilliantly and bagged a couple of wickets, while Shubman scored a magnificent century. Yashasvi Jaiswal also made a stroke-filled 87 as India finished on 310/5 at Stumps. Shubman and Jadeja are batting on 114 and 41, respectively.
India
