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India will aim to level the five-match series as they take on England in the second Test, starting on Friday at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Without the services of star batter Virat Kohli for the first two games, India lost the first Test last week in Hyderabad by 28 runs. The hosts received two fresh blows earlier this week as KL Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out of the second Test due to injuries. India added added Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar to India’s squad.
India are likely to make multiple changes to their playing XI as they look to get back on level terms in the series.
Here’s what we think could be India’s XI vs England for the 2nd Test:
Openers: Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal
India captain Rohit Sharma, perhaps, was the only frontline batter who looked assured in the second innings while his partner, Jaiswal, was guilty of throwing his wicket away.
Both will look to play big knocks and help India level the series.
Middle-Order: Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, KS Bharat
With Virat Kohli set to return in the third Test, there will be immense pressure on the likes of Gill and even Shreyas Iyer to deliver here in Vizag.
The defensive approach of Gill, who had a breakout 2023 in the shorter formats, contributed to his downfall. Iyer, on the other hand, once again failed to cement his place in India’s middle-order.
KS Bharat played decent cameos in both the innings, and it is highly unlikely that the management will go for the second choice keeper Dhruv Jurel.
Rajat Patidar, who was also a part of the squad in Hyderabad, is likely to replace Rahul. Sarfaraz might have to wait a bit longer for his debut.
All-Rounders: Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin
India won’t have the luxury of fielding Jadeja in this game but Ashwin, four shy of the 500-wicket milestone in Tests, and Axar will need to redraw their plans to come back hard at their uber-aggressive opponents who are sure to employ the sweeping tactics irrespective of the conditions.
Washington Sundar is likely to take Jadeja’s place in the team
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav
India are likely to go in with one pacer in Jasprit Bumrah and play another spinner, possibly leggie Kuldeep Yadav.
Kuldeep will replace Mohammed Siraj who had tough outing in Hyderabad.
India’s Predicted XI vs England
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, KS Bharat, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav.
(With PTI Inputs)
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