July 1, 2025: India will need to shed their conservative selection approach and give themselves the best chance to take 20 wickets on what is expected to be another batting surface in the second Test against England, beginning here on Wednesday.
By the team management�s own admission, India missed a specialist bowler, Kuldeep Yadav, at Leeds as England comfortably chased down a record 371 on day five of a game that the visitors should have won.
Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said that India are trying to find a team that has the bowlers to take 20 wickets but doesn't compromise on batting depth. �In terms of managing the strategy there, we�re looking at each bowler individually, feeling what we feel they can get wickets-wise. After that, it's just about finding one's equilibrium and figuring out your best chance of getting into the Test match. �But you need 20 wickets. So the attacking party is obviously finding someone who can get wickets as well. And we are grappling with that. We never stop discussing that. We�re trying to figure it out,� Doeschate admitted.
The weather has been rather hot in Birmingham and the surface, bound by a decent covering of grass, is dry underneath.
On this very ground three years ago, England had gunned down a daunting 378 with ridiculous ease to draw the series. In county cricket, the same 22 yards have recently provided numerous runs to batters. The spinners will eventually come into the game and India need to decide whether they want someone like Washington Sundar who can assist Ravindra Jadeja or get Kuldeep, who is a much better wicket-taking option. At this time, it is known that India will field two spinners. At Leeds, Shardul Thakur was the fast bowling all-rounder, but batting all-rounder Nitish Reddy could start on Wednesday. Although Thakur did not have the best of outings, it would be unfair to bench him after just one chance. Prior to the game, Jasprit Bumrah's availability is a question mark. If he doesn�t play the second of his decided quota of three Tests, the pace line-up is expected to be Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna.
The pacers lacked the consistency in their lengths to put England batters to the test because Bumrah was difficult to control at the other end. They would be wiser after that experience and if Bumrah doesn�t play, will have a lot to prove.
Jadeja, who could not get much out of a turning pitch on day five at Headingley, would be eager to make an impact too.
After the horror show at Leeds, India's catching would have to be much better, or Yashasvi Jaiswal would have lost his spot in the slip cordon. The batting department has a settled look though India would be desperate to add runs late in the innings after two lower-order collapses that cost them dearly.
K L Rahul, Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and captain Shubman Gill would want to build on their successes in the first game of the series. Rookie Sai Sudharsan and comeback man Karun Nair are certain to get another opportunity after an underwhelming start to the series.
England, on the other hand, seem to have added a method to their madness with a refined �Bazball� approach that gives due respect to the conditions and the bowler.
Jofra Archer, who was expected to make a comeback, has pulled out of the match because of a family emergency. However, the pace attack led by Chris Woakes would be confident because it has cleaned up India's tail twice and allowed the hosts to make a comeback in the game. After receiving poor returns in Leeds, Woakes, a home hero, would be expected to make the breakthroughs with the new ball. Against India's fragile lower order, Josh Tongue would be sniffing blood. Brydon Carse also improved as the game progressed while skipper Ben Stokes, by far, got the most out of the conditions.
England's aggressive batting style has also been helped by sporting wickets, and this pattern is expected to continue. Squads:
Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, and Shoaib Bashir are the members of the England squad. India: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav