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Gill explains why Kuldeep isn't part of India XI for Edgbaston Test: 'We were tempted to play Kuldeep but...'
India's decision to make multiple changes to their combination for the second Test against England at Edgbaston was along expected lines, with Jasprit Bumrah widely expected to be rested in order to stay fresh for the third Test at Lord's.
Bumrah was indeed rested in the second Test in Birmingham, with the Shubman Gill-led visitors including two all-rounders – Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar – in addition to pacer Akash Deep, picked as Bumrah's replacement.
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There had been plenty of chatter over left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav's inclusion after the five-wicket defeat at Headingley. Gill, however, justified Kuldeep's exclusion by stating that the team needed solidity in the batting department, especially in the lower middle order that had crumbled twice at Headingley.
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'Spoke to players who were part of 2018 series': Shubman Gill reveals strategy behind playing two spinners in Edgbaston Test
'We were tempted to play Kuldeep but looking at the last match, our lower order didn't do well, so decided to add some depth to the batting,' Gill said during the toss, in which his English counterpart Ben Stokes opted to field.
Instead, Sundar was included as the second spin-bowling all-rounder along with Ravindra Jadeja; solving India's need for two spinners and extra batting support.
To accommodate Sundar however, Karun Nair has had to be shifted to the No 3 spot. B Sai Sudharsan had made his Test debut batting at that position in the first Test, but was benched after getting dismissed for 0 and 30.
Reddy, meanwhile, replaced Shardul Thakur, who had been preferred for the series opener due to his bowling skills but failed to impress either with ball or with bat.
India vs England, 2nd Test at Edgbaston, Playing XI
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
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