India vs England Jasprit Bumrah Set to Comeback

India vs England: India has made three changes to their playing XI for the Birmingham Test.

Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah is not playing in the second Test match against England. England currently leads the series 1-0.

India vs England Jasprit Bumrah (Credit: Social Media)

India vs England Jasprit Bumrah Set to Lead India’s Pace Attack Again

The second match of the India vs England Test series began on Wednesday at Edgbaston, Birmingham. England won the toss and opted to bowl first.

India made three changes to their playing XI for the Birmingham Test. Star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is not playing in this match, and captain Shubman Gill explained the reason — Bumrah has been rested to manage his workload.

In his place, pacer Akash Deep has been given an opportunity. Bumrah will play only three matches out of the five-Test series.

England is already leading the series 1-0 after defeating India by five wickets in Leeds, where Bumrah had taken a five-wicket haul.

Along with Akash Deep, all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar have also been included in the playing XI.

Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur have been left out. After losing the toss, captain Shubman Gill said, “We also wanted to bowl first. If there is something in the wicket, it will be on the first day. We’ve made three changes — Reddy, Washington, and Akash Deep are in. Bumrah is not playing; it’s a workload management decision. We had a good break, and this is an important match for us.”

Meanwhile, hosts England have not made any changes to their squad. It’s worth noting that India has a poor record in Birmingham — they have played eight Tests here, lost seven, and drawn one. The last time India played a Test at Edgbaston in 2022, they lost to England by seven wickets.

India’s Playing XI:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

England’s Playing XI:

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.