2nd Test: Akash, Nitish & Washington come in as England elect to bowl first against India

Birmingham: In the second match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series at Edgbaston, England won the toss and elected to bowl first against India. The Indian side has made three changes to its playing XI with Akash Deep, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar coming into the team.

Bumrah Rested, Akash Deep Gets a Test Debut

With India trailing 1-0 in the five-match series after a defeat at Headingley, the major talking point was whether Jasprit Bumrah would feature. Skipper Shubman Gill confirmed Bumrah has been rested to manage his workload, and Akash Deep replaces him in the XI.

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Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar Add Depth

• Nitish Kumar Reddy comes in for Shardul Thakur as a seam-bowling all-rounder.
• Washington Sundar replaces Sudharsan, who made his debut at No. 3 in Leeds.
• Karun Nair will now bat at number three, moving up from number six.

These changes strengthen India’s all-round options, as the team now features three all-rounders: Nitish, Washington, and Ravindra Jadeja, with pace support from Siraj, Akash, and Prasidh Krishna.

Shubman Gill: Saving Bumrah for Lord’s Test

Captain Shubman Gill explained the decision:

“No Bumrah just to manage his workload… This is an important match, but we think Lord’s will offer more help for him. We wanted to play Kuldeep, but opted for batting depth instead.”

England Unchanged, Archer Still Waits

England, buoyed by their thrilling 371-run chase in Leeds, have gone with an unchanged XI. This means Jofra Archer will not make his long-awaited return to Test cricket just yet.

Stokes Confident in Conditions and Team Form

England captain Ben Stokes said the conditions favor bowling first:

“Overhead conditions favour bowling. Great start to the series, but now it’s about focusing on this week, not last week.”

Tribute to Wayne Larkins

England players are wearing black armbands in honor of former batter Wayne Larkins, who passed away on June 28. Larkins played 13 Tests and 25 ODIs for England between 1979 and 1991.

Playing XIs

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (capt), 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 (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir