India are prepared to face England in the second Test match of the five-game bilateral series starting on Friday in Visakhapatnam. The visitors on Thursday announced their playing XI one day before the Test match as they did for the first Test in Hyderabad. (Streaming | More Cricket News)
England have made two changes from the last Test match. Veteran pacer James Anderson comes back to the playing XI after being rested in Hyderabad. Anderson comes in place of Mark Wood. The uncapped 20-year-old spinner Shoaib Bashir will make his debut in Test cricket at Vizag on Friday after Jack Leach sustained an injury in his left knee and was forced to be left out of the selection for the second Test.
Advertisement
The lanky right-arm off-break was unable to participate in the first Test due to visa issues and had to return to the United Kingdom to resolve his visa issues. After Leach's exclusion from the second Test, England's spin brigade consists of Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir. These three young spinners have combined experience of three Test matches (Ahmed - 2, Hartley - 1). Joe Root also came in handy in Hyderabad and provided crucial wickets.
ALSO READ: IND Vs ENG 2nd Test: Three Key Battles
The 41-year-old Anderson is the oldest and most experienced player among both teams. He has taken 690 wickets in 183 Test matches. He is a master of swing bowling and he will be trying to move the ball in the port city.
Advertisement
Rohit Sharma-led Indian team are yet to announce their playing XI for the second Test. With Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul already out of the match due to injuries, we might see at least two debuts on Friday. Stylish batter Sarfaraz Khan and left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar were added as Jadeja and Rahul's replacements for the second Test. Washington Sundar was also added to the squad.
Madhya Pradesh's Rajat Patidar is in the frontline for his debut in Test. He was added as Virat Kohli's replacement for the first two Tests in the squad. Sarfaraz and Patidar have been consistently performing in the domestic circuit for a long time. To fill Jadeja's place, India might go with either Kuldeep Yadav or Washington Sundar as the third spinner.
England's Playing XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (WK), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson
India Squad:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Rajat Patidar, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Sarfaraz Khan, Avesh Khan, Saurabh Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Dhruv Jurel
