Surprised by the non-selection of Kuldeep Yadav in the team, former England captain Michael Atherton reminded the Indian captain Shubman Gill of an embarrassing statistic at the toss. “Hasn’t he played just 8 Tests in 15 years?”, checked Atherton. Gill, a decision-maker for the last two Tests, cleared his position. “It was very tempting to play him but considering our lack of runs down the order, we needed batsmen.”
So as reported by The Indian Express, India made three changes. Akash Deep for pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar for Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Reddy for Shardul Thakur.
The large-scale chopping and changing didn’t go down well with the pundits. England captain Nasser Hussain said it was a “panic reaction” since India hadn’t done that badly in the first Test. There were multiple centurions and they were in the game for four and half days.
Gill gave the team’s logic: “Bumrah didn’t play because we wanted 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.”
Gill wasn’t on the same page as the former India coach Ravi Shastri. “The decision is baffling. If he is fit to play, he should. There was a week between the two Tests, this is virtually a must win game to be in the series, Bumrah is your premier fast bowler. No ifs and buts he should have played. The head coach (Gautam Gambhir) and captain should have made the decision and they should have asked him to play,” he said from the commentary box.
Sitting alongside, Atherton would find the Bumrah call “very strange”.
The Indian dressing room, meanwhile, seemed to be on a different drift. By packing the sides with players who can bat, India looked to have entered the Test with a defensive mindset. Down 0-1 in the series and Bumrah expected to return for the third Test at Lord’s, India weren’t looking to land a counter punch this quickly.
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By bolstering the batting department, they seemed to be looking to bat longer and avoid a draw. To hold on at Edgbaston and go for a win at Lord’s.
If India were trying to level the series, they could have included the two specialists – Kuldeep and the left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh. Both would have provided variety and a new dimension to the Indian attack. They would certainly be better wicket-taking options than the two all-rounders, Washington and Reddy.
Much before the toss, there were enough signals that helped to predict the playing XI. Bumrah was seen having a chat with his replacement and apprentice Akash Deep. Mohammed Siraj had a hand around Thakur’s shoulder as they were walking to the central square to have one last look at the pitch. Sai Sudarshan was seen doing catching practice with the rest of the team.
