Hurt India Look To Rebound In 2nd Test Vs England
VISAKHAPATNAM: An underpressure and under-resourced India will need to think out of the box to counter England's fearless bunch of 'Bazballers' in the second Test beginning here on Friday.
India are seldom stretched at home but following a dramatic loss in Hyderabad, they have plenty to ponder and the absence of injured Ravindra Jadeja and K L Rahul has made their task tougher.
Three years ago, the mighty hosts found themselves in a similar situation having lost the opening Test to England at Chennai but bounced back to win the series.
However, the Joe Root-led side was a different breed then and this time India plan to fightback against a team that has redefined the way Test cricket is played and defied all probability to win the series opener after conceding a 190run lead on a turning track.
England batters, led by Ollie Pope, swept and reverse swept their way to success in the first Test, taking Rohit and his bunch by surprise, while making the most potent spin trio in the world look ordinary.
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.
JADEJA, SHAMI SET TO MISS REMAINDER OF TEST SERIES
India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will need more time to recover from his hamstring injury and along with pacer Mohammed Shami could miss the remainder of the five-match Test series against England.
Jadeja, who pulled his hamstring following his run-out during India's fourth-innings chase in the series opener in Hyderabad, was initially ruled out of the second Test beginning here from Friday.
Jadeja returned with figures of 3/88 and 2/131 and also scored 87 and 2 in the first Test that India lost by 28 runs.
A hamstring injury normally takes at least four weeks to heal and it is likely that Jadeja could be ruled out of the entire series. The final Test of the series is in Dharamsala from March 7-11.
Pacer Shami, sidelined with an injury after a sterling show in last year's ODI World Cup in India, has gone to England to take special injections for his left ankle problem and also consult a surgeon.
He was initially not considered for the first two Tests, but it is now learnt that he could be ruled out of the entire series.
India will also miss KL Rahul in the second Test as he's out with pain in his right quadriceps for which he underwent surgery in 2022.
India are also without star batter Virat Kohli, who withdrew from the first two Tests owing to personal reasons, forcing the BCCI to pick uncapped Rajat Patidar as replacement.
India have also added middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar and all-rounder Washington Sundar to the squad.
BASHIR TO DEBUT, ANDERSON REPLACES WOOD
Shoaib Bashir will make his delayed test debut against India on Friday, while veteran James Anderson will replace Mark Wood as England's lone fast bowler in the second match of the series in Visakhapatnam, touring captain Ben Stokes said.
Off-spinner Bashir missed the opening test in Hyderabad - where England registered one of their greatest away wins - following a visa delay. The 20-year-old will replace Somerset team mate Jack Leach, who hurt his left knee while fielding in Hyderabad, where England grabbed a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Anderson will be playing his 184th test and Stokes said the 41-year-old's experience would come in handy as England bid to end India's record of not losing a test series at home since 2012.
Squads: India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar.
England: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Bashir, Dan Lawrence, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.