After losing the first game of the series by five wickets in Leeds last month, the Indian team management made three modifications to the starting lineup in an attempt to tie the score in Birmingham for the second Test against England.

Jasprit Bumrah, a fast bowler, was available to be picked for the second test, Indian captain Shubman Gill said during the pre-match press conference on Tuesday. However, the current leadership chose to give the 31-year-old a break in order to manage his workload and make sure he was in good health and well-rested for the third game at Lord's, despite appeals from the majority of experts, including former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who cautioned that it may come at a cost to the visitors.

"In order to just handle his workload." This is a crucial game for us, and we did have a good break. However, Gill said that since the third Test will be at Lord's, "we expect there will be more in that pitch, so we will utilize him there." In the starting XI, Akash Deep took over for Bumrah.

Live scores from the second Test between India and England in 2025

Given that Bumrah was the only fast bowler to trouble the English batsmen in Leeds, having taken five wickets in the first innings, whereas his fellow quicks struggled to find the correct length, this is a significant risk for India. Experts even took issue with the lack of support throughout the two innings.

Sai Sudharsan is no more!

Sai Sudharsan, who made his debut in Leeds and batted at No. 3, was mercilessly left out of the playing XI by India in order to increase the depth of the pace-bowling attack with the inclusion of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. This suggests that Karun Nair will bat in a higher slot.

With Washington Sundar taking Shardul Thakur's place, India also included a second spinner in the XI. Sundar was selected to bolster the lower-order batting lineup, which had a significant role in India's defeat in Leeds, while Kuldeep Yadav was supported for the position, particularly in light of discussions around Bumrah's likely rest for the Edgbaston Test, according to Gill.

"Looking at the last game, our lower order didn't do well, so we decided to add some depth to the batting," he said. "We were tempted to play Kuldeep, but our lower order didn't do well, so we decided to add some depth to the batting."

In Birmingham, England won the toss and chose to bowl first.

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rishabh Pant(w), Shubman Gill(c), Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal

England (Playing XI): Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes(c), Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Shoaib Bashir

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