ENG vs IND: What are the three changes India have made to their playing XI for 2nd test?

The second test between England and India is taking place at Edgbaston, Birmingham. 

The England Cricket Team and the Indian Cricket Team are up against each other in the second game of the five-match test series. The match between the two teams is taking place at Edgbaston Ground in Birmingham. 

After a disappointing loss in the first game of the five-match series, the Shubman Gill-led side would be keen to make a strong comeback in the second game. There were a few areas of concern for them in the last game, but to rectify that, they have made a few changes in the XI for the ongoing second game. 

India have made three changes in the XI for the Edgbaston test, and one of the biggest ones is that Jasprit Bumrah is being rested for the match. In his place, Akash Deep has come into the team, and it will be the first game for him since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. 

Another change that India made was Nitish Kumar Reddy replacing Shardul Thakur in the XI. The Mumbai all-rounder didn’t make a great impact in the last game as he failed badly with bat and ball in the last match and faced a lot of criticism for his performance. 

Also, the team management dropped Sai Sudharsan, who made his debut in the last game. All-rounder Washington Sundar has been added to the team, keeping in mind that the pitch offers assistance to the spinners.

Speaking about the changes, skipper Shubman Gill said that they wanted to rest Jasprit Bumrah to keep him fit for the third game at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. He also admitted that they were tempted to play Kuldeep Yadav, but they wanted to add batting depth. 

“Would’ve bowled first as well. If there’s anything in the wicket, it’s in the first day. Three changes – Reddy, Washi and Akash Deep come in. 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. We were tempted to play Kuldeep but looking at the last match, our lower order didn’t do well, so decided to add some depth to the batting,” Shubman Gill said at toss. 

India playing XI for the second test against England 

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

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