The seam-bowling all-rounder featured in the first Test at Headingley, but didn’t have much of an impact. With the ball, he bowled just six overs in England’s first innings without taking a wicket. He managed to pick up two wickets in the fourth innings, but it wasn’t enough to stop the hosts from successfully chasing down a massive 371-run target. With the bat, Shardul struggled as well—scoring just 1 and 4 in his two outings.
Following that defeat, captain Shubman Gill and the team management opted for a few changes, including dropping Shardul from the XI. England, meanwhile, won the toss at Edgbaston and chose to field first.
Here are the playing XIs for the 2nd Test:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (capt), Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
Rahane Backed Shardul to Play
Former India Test captain Ajinkya Rahane had backed Shardul to retain his spot, citing his ability to take wickets and contribute as an all-rounder. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rahane suggested that if conditions favored seamers and Bumrah was rested, Shardul would be a strong choice.
Why Jasprit Bumrah Might Be Rested for the Edgbaston Test Against England
“If Bumrah doesn’t play, I’d like to see Arshdeep Singh. If there’s bounce and grass, then continue with Prasidh Krishna. But if it’s dry and hot, I’d go with Kuldeep Yadav instead of Prasidh and play two spinners with Jadeja. As for seamers, I’d like to see Shardul because he’s someone who can get you breakthroughs.”
Interestingly, Shardul was in fine form heading into the series. He smashed a quickfire 122* off just 68 balls in the intra-squad match, giving selectors something to think about. However, despite that performance, he finds himself on the bench for this crucial second Test.
