New Delhi: "Safety first" seems to be the early frontrunner for Shubman Gill's captaincy, while "intent" was the buzzword during Virat Kohli's tenure. India's perplexing selection decisions for the second Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, cannot be adequately explained in any other way.

Despite the week's hiatus after the Headingley match, Jasprit Bumrah, who was in good shape, was rested, and Sai Sudharsan, who had only played one test, along with bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur, were benched in favor of paceman Akash Deep, batting allrounder Nitish Reddy, and Washington Sundar, who bats all-rounder.

"This is an important match for us, but the third match at Lord's... there may be something more in the wicket and we thought we'll play him there. At the toss, Gill stated that while they were quite tempted to play (Kuldeep), they also wanted to give the batting more depth considering the previous game.

What good is depth to the batting when they ought to be asking themselves, "Where are the 20 wickets going to come from?" The call enraged many onlookers.

"India's choice for this Test is perplexing," former Australia cricketer Tom Moody stated on X. "Not having Bumrah is one thing, but to just have five expert batsmen is a risk. It has never been effective to concentrate on all-rounders whose purpose is to provide depth with both bat and ball. Over the course of a Test, experts will always provide more.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar reviewed the choices

"Washington at seven or Nitish Reddy at eight won't necessarily solve the problem if your top-order hitters aren't providing the runs you expect, since those weren't the batters who let you down in the first Test. You scored 830 runs. It was more than 830, not 380, that you scored in two innings. On the Sony Sports Network, he stated, "That's a lot of runs. Therefore, you needed improvement in the wicket-taking area, not so much in the hitting."

And lastly, former India captain and coach Ravi Shastri criticized the team management for resting Bumrah in an on-air discussion with former England captain Michael Atherton prior to the game.

"Very odd, perplexing," stated Shastri. "If he's fit to play, he should play. The head coach and captain should have complete discretion in making that choice. This is a crucial Test match, a must-win game for India, coming as it does during the week between Test matches. You need your top fast bowler playing if they need to survive throughout the series. And he should have been playing regardless of any ifs and buts.

However, we have an illustration of a decision-making process that will not sit well with anybody. Gill is permitted to make errors during his debut series as captain of the Test team. However, this train of thinking demonstrates a timid attitude that contradicts his words.

Gill had expressed his desire for a victory with assurance in the lead up to the second Test.

"Whether you're the captain or a member of the team, you'll always want to enter a Test match with the goal of winning. You should never approach a Test with the intention of playing for a draw or trying anything out there, he had stated. However, the method used here seems to suggest that a tie without Bumrah would be fantastic.

Although it's simple to condemn Gill, Gautam Gambhir, the coach, deserves some of the responsibility. Rather than stifling it, he should be helping the young skipper learn to have faith in his captaincy instinct in a Test.

In recent years, India has consistently opted to provide additional defense for the batting rather than pushing them to improve. As a result, the off-spinner R Ashwin spent much too much time in the locker room, and it seems like Kuldeep Yadav will suffer the same fate.

Gill's appointment as Test captain was supposed to mark the beginning of a new era, but thus far it appears to be more of the same.

Read Also: Jasprit Bumrah Faces Criticism After Edgbaston Omission Reveals ‘Surprising’ Move: ‘Keep Your Cards Close’

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