NEW DELHI: India’s playing XI for the second Test against England in Birmingham on Wednesday has triggered widespread debate. The inclusion of three new faces — Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep — coupled with the resting of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and the omission of in-form spinner Kuldeep Yadav, drew sharp criticism from cricketing legends Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, and Ravi Shastri.India’s recent Test form has been underwhelming, with just one win in their last nine matches — the team’s poorest run in over a decade. The struggles continued with a five-wicket defeat to England in the first Test at Leeds.Former India captain Sourav Ganguly voiced concern over the spin choices.“I’m not sure whether India are playing their two best spinners,” Ganguly said on Sony Sports.“England have chosen to field first — that’s surprising. But this could be India’s best chance. Put runs on the board and hopefully it works out.”“I had two great spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the team. I used to stop the run flow on Day 1 of the Test and the two became dangerous as the match went ahead,” he added.Sunil Gavaskar questioned the exclusion of Kuldeep Yadav, especially considering the pitch conditions.
“I’m a little baffled that Kuldeep wasn’t picked — especially on a surface where everyone says there’s a bit more turn,” Gavaskar said.He also stressed that batting wasn’t India’s primary issue.“If your top-order isn’t scoring runs, then bringing in Washington at seven or Nitish Reddy at eight won’t solve that. Those weren’t the batters who failed in the first Test. You scored over 830 runs — not 380 — across two innings. That’s plenty,” he added.According to Gavaskar, the team needed more focus on bowling reinforcements.“The area that needed strengthening was wicket-taking, not batting.”Former India head coach Ravi Shastri was critical of the decision to rest Bumrah, calling it a misstep in such a crucial match.“You don’t rest your premier fast bowler in a series-defining Test,” he remarked, suggesting that Bumrah should not have had the option to sit out.With Bumrah rested, India fielded Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar as their spin options in the Birmingham Test.
