Team India has started preparations for the second Test match against England in Birmingham. Gone down 0-1 in the 5-match series, the visitors have opted to start practicing after a very brief break. Having dropped 8 catches in the first Test, Team India commenced their training session with fielding practice, according to RevSportz.
No bowling practice for India’s pace trio
After catching and direct hit drills, all of the players excluding Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna hit the nets. Mohammed Siraj didn’t bowl but was doing batting practice with assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, specifically to counter short-pitch bowling. Bumrah and Prasidh worked solely on fitness and running drills. Siraj joined them after the net session. The trio did not bowl.
Reports suggest that Bumrah would be rested in Birmingham. It’s understood that the management will assess the fast bowler and will take the final call about his participation on the eve of the India vs England 2nd Test.
Kuldeep Yadav & Washington Sundar in action
The Edgbaston pitch is expected to offer more turn than Headingley. Keeping this in mind, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar bowled for an hour alongside Ravindra Jadeja. They extracted some turn in the nets and even troubled Rishabh Pant. Many wanted Kuldeep to play in Headingley, especially after seeing Jadeja getting a significant turn on the final day. And that may happen in Birmingham.
Arshdeep Singh & Akash Deep waiting their turns
Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep were the only two pacers in action. All-rounder Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy also bowled. If Bumrah is indeed rested, either Arshdeep or Akash could feature in the second Test match. They bowled with the new and old balls to see whether they would remain sharp throughout the match.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Arshdeep spent half of his bowling practice with an old and made ball, indicating that Team India expects reverse swing to come into the equation. He also went around the wicket to bowl to right-handed batters like Shubman Gill and KL Rahul. If the management thinks that reverse will play a major role, they could pick Arshdeep, who is a swing bowler.
Team India has scheduled an optional practice session on Saturday (June 28); it’ll be fascinating to see whether the pacers turn up for it or not.
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