Revealed: Why Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav are not playing 2nd Test against England?
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The toss at Edgbaston has brought along a huge surprise for the Indian cricket fans, as ace Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the second Test, despite the Indian bowling attack receiving much criticism in the first Test at Headingley.
Also, there was much talk on the supposed pick of Kuldeep Yadav, as several former Indian as well as international cricketers backed his return to the Test side in England. However, the management seems to abide by their own plans as they look to go with Washington Sundar as the second lead spinner.
Sundar has replaced Shardul Thakur in the India 11. Another shocking change has been made as youngster Sai Sudharsan, who was handed his debut cap at Leeds, has been excluded from the 11 to bring in seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Akash Deep was roped in as Jasprit Bumrah rested for the Edgbaston Test
In Bumrah's absence, Akash Deep will be seen taking charge of the pace bowling unit alongside Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj.
Skipper Shubman Gill clarifies their call to rest Bumrah: "No Bumrah. 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."
Shubman Gill agreed to have been tempted to include the left-arm chinaman bowler in the test 11, while he clarified that the lower order underperformed at Leeds, and hence they cited players who could add batting depth to the side.
"We were tempted to play Kuldeep, but looking at the last match, our lower order didn't do well, so we decided to add some depth to the batting," Shubman Gill further said about Kuldeep Yadav's snub.
England has an unchanged 11 for the Second test
The English side has named an unchanged squad for the second test, which will be played at Headingley. Led by Captain Ben Stokes, England were victorious in the first test at Leeds and have advanced to Birmingham with a similar playing 11.
They have named the test openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, who were the major forces in the second England innings, when they chased a record 371 runs on Day 5 of the Leeds test.
The middle-order comprising Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes has also been retained, while Jamie Smith remains in the playing 11 as well.
Though there has been much doubt over the bowling deck of the Englishmen, as Jofra Archer's possible inclusion was stated ahead of the second test. However, England has decided to retain the playing 11 and has included the three pacers alongside Shoaib Bashir being the lead spinner in the side.
India Bat first; Karun Nair in a new role at no. 3
The Indian batting deck looks settled, as the four players in the top-order, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are all centurions from the first test.
India's only loophole in the batting order was debutant Sai Sudharsan, who scored a duck and 30 coming into bat at no. 3. However, now, after dropping Sudharsan, Karun Nair has been promoted up the order to bat at no. 3.
Karun Nair, who marked his return to the test after a span of 8 years, did not have the best of starts as he was dismissed for a duck and 20 in the two Indian batting innings. Now he has his second chance in the second test at Birmingham.
ALSO READ: England Playing 11 for 2nd Test announced, key decisions made
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India vs England India National Cricket Team England National Cricket Team Jasprit Bumrah Kuldeep Yadav Shubman Gill Washington Sundar Akash Deep Nitish Kumar Reddy
