Trailing 0-1, India will be looking to level the five-match series vs England, in the ongoing second Test in Visakhapatnam. Day 1 began on Friday and hosts won the toss, opting to bat. Rohit Sharma and Co. made three changes, choosing to rest Mohammed Siraj, and bringing in Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar. Meanwhile, Rajat Patidar has replaced star player KL Rahul in the playing XI. (IND vs ENG 2nd Test Live Score)
Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, who is also missing from the playing XI, suffered injuries on their hamstring. After the match, BCCI announced that both these players would not feature in the second Test, following by handing Sarfaraz Khan his maiden India call-up. Also, Sourabh Kumar replaced Jadeja in the squad.
What surprised some was India’s decision to exclude Washington Sundar and former head coach Ravi Shastri led the bandwagon. While commentating during the first session of the ongoing second Test, the former player questioned Mukesh’s inclusion, and suggested that Sundar would have been a better option as a bowling all-rounder due to Jadeja’s absence.
“My only concern is picking Mukesh Kumar over Washington Sundar. How much of use will Mukesh be, especially after India is batting first on this Vizag surface,” he said.
Other than Jadeja, the Indian batting line-up will also be without the experience of Rahul and Virat Kohli. Sundar would also be useful with his spin duties.
India were left shocked in the first Test match as England managed to eke out a historic victory. During toss on Friday, Rohit spoke about the defeat and pointed out a key aspect which was missing in Hyderabad.
“What happened in Hyderabad is history, we need to move on. We have spoken on things we need to do, now we need to execute on our plans. I thought we batted well in the first innings, but didn’t have the same intent. Similarly, in the second innings with the bowl there was a brilliant knock by Ollie Pope. Injuries are part and parcel of the game, but that’s why we have the guys sitting on the bench,” he said.
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