ENG vs IND: Why is Kuldeep Yadav not included in the Indian playing XI for the 2nd test?

Kuldeep Yadav was backed by many cricket experts to play in the second test against England

The India Cricket Team and the England Cricket Team are locking horns in the second test at Edgbaston, Birmingham. England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match. The home side have made no changes to their playing XI, while, on the other hand, there are three changes for the visitors.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep were added to the playing XI. Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the match.

All-rounder Shardul Thakur was dropped from the playing XI. Sai Sudharsan, who made his test debut in the last match, could not find a place in the team for the Edgbaston test. Sudharsan didn’t make a bigger impact with the bat in the opening game in Leeds.

Shubman Gill reveals why Kuldeep Yadav was not picked for the second test against England

During the toss, India skipper Shubman Gill revealed that Kuldeep Yadav was not picked for the second test as India wanted to add more depth to their batting, especially after the lower-order collapse in the last game.

“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,” he said.

Gill also revealed that Bumrah was rested to manage his workload, but India are looking forward to playing him in the third test at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

“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”, he added.

Notably, there were reports that India might add Kuldeep Yadav in the second test to strengthen their spin attack. However, Sundar has been picked ahead of Yadav in the spin department. Meanwhile, England lead the five-match test series 1-0 after winning the opening game by five wickets.

India’s playing XI for second test: 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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