Team India suffered an unbelievable defeat in the first test against England in Hyderabad. Despite having a massive first-inning lead of 190 runs, India ended up 28 runs short and lost the game. With that, England have taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The second game will start on February 2. This match will be played at the VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. However, ahead of the second game, India suffered a massive blow.
Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul have been ruled out of the second match due to respective injuries. Both players did well in the first match, but they will not be available for the second game. India have added Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, and Saurabh Kumar as replacements. But this has certainly changed the whole scenario. So here we will talk about the best possible XI for Team India for the second game.
Openers – Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal had a pretty good game, and he scored a fluent 74-ball 80 in the first inning. Then he scored 15 runs in the second. He will be the first-choice opener and will look to carry on his good form to make an impact. Rohit Sharma scored 24 and 39 runs in two innings. However, he needs to take more responsibility and play big innings at the top for India.
Middle Order – Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Shreyas Iyer and KS Bharat
Shubman Gill has been struggling and going through poor form, so he should be dropped. India can pick Rajat Patidar to bat at No. 3, who has been in good form. Sarfaraz Khan is another exciting talent who has scored immense runs at the domestic circuit, so India can pick him to bat at No. 4. Shreyas Iyer is another player who is struggling, but India might not give a chance to all the new players and pick Sarfaraz. Hence, they might stick with Iyer at No. 5. Apart from that, KS Bharat, who had a pretty decent game, will be at No. 6.
All-rounders – Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Ravi Ashwin
Washington has been picked to replace Ravindra Jadeja, and he might be an ideal replacement for the all-rounder. Hence, we might see Sundar getting a chance in the team right away, and he can bat at any order. Then, Ravi Ashwin will be another spin-bowling all-rounder in the team. Axar Patel will be the third all-rounder in the squad.
Fast bowler – Jaspirt Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar
Jaspirt Bumrah will be the main pacer for India. He picked up six wickets in the first game and will be required to do it in the second game as well. India should go with Mukesh Kumar instead of Mohammed Siraj because he bowls some hard length, which can be effective on the pitches, helping the spinners.
