England on Monday announced their Playing XI for the second Test vs India at Birmingham with Jofra Archer missing out from this match as well. The team, which was unchanged from the first Test at Leeds, will take on India in Edgbaston from July 2-6.
Archer had missed Monday’s training session at Edgbaston due to a family emergency but is expected to rejoin the squad on Tuesday ahead of the second Test against India.
The pacer, who had missed the opening Test, was added to the England squad for the five-match series last week.
We’re ready to do it all again at @Edgbaston on Wednesday! 🏟 😍
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 30, 2025
“Men’s fast bowler Jofra Archer will not be joining the England Test squad for today’s training session at Edgbaston, Monday 30 June, due to a family emergency. He is expected to rejoin the squad tomorrow, Tuesday,” the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) said on Monday.
Archer, who has struggled with elbow-related injury to his bowling arm over the last several years, last played in a Test more than four years ago against India in Ahmedabad.
Meanwhile, India will likely to be without their MVP Jasprit Bumrah for this Test. It could be the call of Lord’s or workload management; Bumrah, after bowling 44 overs at Headingley, in all probability will sit out for the second Test at Edgbaston. He is expected to return for the third Test at the home of cricket in London on July 10.
If India can’t take 20 wickets with Bumrah, how can they do it without their chief wicket-taker? This is a question that the team management can keep asking themselves, and what bowlers they pick for Edgbaston will have to answer.
So how is India expected to react after losing the Test they should have won? They could think out of the box, and switch personnel, notably bringing in Kuldeep Yadav without heeding to the pitch calculations. And going purely by past team selection trends where all-rounders get summoned as fixing-all-bases-solutions, it could well see them adding an extra bowler without compromising on their batting strength. Washington Sundar for a specialist batsman could be an idea the team management might be toying with, before the Edgbaston Test.
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Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicket-keeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
