Following the five-wicket defeat to England in the opening Test of the five-match series in Leeds, Sunil Gavaskar, the Indian batting icon, has urged for a shake-up. In the playing XI, Gavaskar made two recommendations for changes, but he only urged pushing the second change if India loses the second Test of the series in Birmingham, which begins on July 2.

Shardul Thakur's return to the playing XI after a two-year hiatus did not particularly thrill Gavaskar. Following a strong all-around performance in the previous season's Ranji Trophy competition, Thakur was invited to join the Test team.

The Mumbai star only bowled six overs in the first innings, during which he gave up 38 runs without taking a wicket. He gave India a genuine chance to gain the upper hand in the second innings by taking out Ben Stokes and Harry Brook on consecutive balls. In 20 balls over the two innings, he only managed to score five runs with the bat.

Given that the trial will take place in Birmingham next week, Gavaskar thought that Kuldeep Yadav should be included in the XI in place of the all-rounder.

"Kuldeep Yadav has to come into the squad, regardless of whether Jasprit Bumrah is healthy or not. Given that the Birmingham surface will provide only a little bit of assistance for the wrist spinner, I think he should join the squad in place of Shardul Thakur, Gavaskar stated to the media on Tuesday.

At Lord's in 2018, though, the leg-spinner only played one Test match in England, where he was unable to take a wicket.

"In the event that the 2nd Test goes awry..."

In addition to their disappointing performance in Leeds, Gavaskar also brought Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair to the public's attention. Both were sent off for a duck in the first innings, which caused a meltdown from 430 for three to 471 all out.

Even though Gavaskar is hesitant to remove them right away, he thought that if India also loses in Birmingham, spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar may be included in the XI to improve both areas.

"Sai (Sudharsan) and Karun (Nair), perhaps, if things don't go well in the second test. Right now, I don't want to abandon them. I would then examine Washington (Sundar) to see whether it truly improves your batting and gives you a bit more diversity in your bowling," he added.

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