India excluded Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI for the second Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham, defying common assumptions and, dare we say, even cricketing logic. However, in the shape of all-rounder Washington Sundar, they did choose a second spin-bowling option to go along with Ravindra Jadeja. Following what happened in the series opener at Headingley, India captain Shubman Gill said they were "tempted" to use Kuldeep, who is, after all, the only specialist spinner in India's Test squad, but in the end, they chose batting depth.

The two most notable changes India made, which former pacer Varun Aaron called "pressing the panic button," were the exclusion of Jasprit Bumrah and the non-selection of Kuldeep Yadav.

Given his workload, Bumrah was naturally the one who was anticipated. At the toss, India captain Shubman Gill stated, "Just to manage this workload, you know, I think we did carry a good break, but it was important for us (to give Bumrah more time)."

2nd Test Live Score: India vs England

The choice of the games in the series that Bumrah would participate in was also influenced by the fact that the third Test will take place at Lord's, where seamers have historically had a good time bowling, according to Gill. "We thought we'd bring him better now, even though I think this is an important match for us, because the third match of the series is being given a lot, there might be a chance that there might be a little bit more in the wicket than this one," he said.

Kuldeep Yadav wasn't selected for India's XI for the second Test because of Shubman Gill's explanation.

Michael Atherton, the former captain of England who conducted the toss, wasted no time in immediately putting Gill in the hot seat by questioning Kuldeep Yadav's ongoing non-selection. Since his debut in 2017, the left-arm spinner Kuldeep has only participated in 13 Test matches, prompting Atherton to wonder why India has been hesitant to include him in Test games. The most recent Test match Kuldeep played was against New Zealand at home the previous year.

Sundar was chosen above Kuldeep as the second spin-bowling option because he is much superior with the bat, according to Gill, who said that they wanted greater depth in the batting lineup.

"We were very tempted to play him, but, you know, looking at the last match, we wanted to add a bit of depth in the batting, and that's what we have done," Gill stated.

India's decision to pick another all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, may have also played a part in the non-selection of Kuldeep. The reason why the Indian think tank felt the need to add more depth to the batting was the complete surrender of the lower-order in both innings at Headingley. Besides, they also decided to drop Sai Sudharsan, a specialist batter and go with an all-rounder, which meant India needed to have an extra batter.

England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bowl first. England went with the same XI that beat India in the first Test.

Read Also: Bumrah's Plea Ignored as Nitish Kumar Reddy Earns Spot for Second England Test

Get the latest Bollywood entertainment news, trending celebrity news, latest celebrity news, new movie reviews, latest entertainment news, latest Bollywood news, and Bollywood celebrity fashion & style updates!

HOW DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? CHOOSE YOUR EMOTICON!