India captain Shubman Gill clarified the team’s decision to leave out Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI for the second Test against England at Edgbaston, citing the need to strengthen the batting order. At the toss, Gill admitted that the team management was "tempted" to pick the left-arm wrist spinner but eventually prioritised the batting depth on offer with an extra all-rounder.
Kuldeep, who was expected to play at Edgbaston, did not find a place in the playing XI. After the five-wicket loss at Headingley, India opted for a different combination in the second Test, leaving many surprised by Kuldeep’s exclusion. The visiting side picked an all-rounder in the form of Washington Sundar and decided to strengthen their batting despite scoring over 800 runs in Leeds.
The Edgbaston pitch, known to aid seamers early on and offer assistance to spinners later in the match, had raised expectations of Kuldeep Yadav’s inclusion, especially since the team opted to rest Jasprit Bumrah to manage his workload. But considering their lower-order collapses in the first Test, the team’s think tank leaned towards bolstering their batting by including a player who could contribute in this department.
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Shubman Gill Explains Kuldeep Yadav’s Exclusion for Edgbaston Test, Highlights Batting Depth as Key Factor
Addressing the decision at the toss, Shubman Gill explained that while Kuldeep was firmly in their plans, the final call was made keeping the team’s requirement in mind to strengthen their batting.
"We were tempted to play Kuldeep but decided to add some depth to the batting," Gill said as quoted at the toss.
As Bumrah was given a break, it was being speculated that bringing Kuldeep into the XI would be a no-brainer since the Indian bowlers failed to claim 20 wickets in the opening Test of the series.
However, going against all the ideas, India have decided that they want to make their lower-order stronger and therefore, they chose Sundar in place of Kuldeep.
India to Bat First, Three Changes in Playing XI
England won the toss in Birmingham and opted to bowl first. They go with an unchanged playing XI.
India have made three changes. Akash Deep replaces Bumrah. Nitish Kumar Reddy comes in place of Shardul Thakur. Sai Sudharsan is out and Sundar is included in the XI.
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
