3 changes India should make to win the second Test against England

It is indeed bewildering as to how fast momentum can change in sport. Just a month ago, the Indian side had scaled unimaginable peaks, and won a Test series in Australia, with each and every player who took the field contributing to the series win. The Indian side was hailed for its historic feat, and the players even got a grand welcome when all of them returned from the land of the kangaroos.

And now, 3 weeks later, the side has experienced a serious low. The Indian team was inflicted a crushing 227 run defeat on home soil in the first Test at Chennai, as Joe Root and his men outclassed the hosts in every department of the game. Also, the last time India lost a Test match (before the loss against England) at home was way back in the year 2017. And now, if India has to come back and record a win in the second Test in just 4 days’ time, they will have to pull up their socks. And certainly, a loss of this magnitude needs some introspection and some changes.

3 changes India should make to win the second Test against England

3. Kuldeep Yadav for Shahbaz Nadeem

Yes, he was playing just his second Test for his country. Yes, there would have been some nerves when he got the ball in hand. But then, Shahbaz Nadeem put up a disappointing performance with the red cherry in hand in the first rubber at Chennai.

The left arm spinner bowled 59 overs in the match, gave away 233 runs and picked up 4 wickets. In comparison, the other left arm spinner who played this game, Jack Leach proved to be way more effective than the Indian spinner. Leach bowled a total of 50 overs in the match, gave away 181 runs but more crucially, picked up 6 wickets. In fact, it was Leach who prized out Rohit Sharma and the patient Cheteshwar Pujara in India’s second innings, as the Indian batting line up crumbled under pressure.

And, Kuldeep Yadav has been waiting in the wings for a long time now, and definitely deserves to get a look in. To be fair to him, Kuldeep has done nothing wrong to not warrant a place in the side. In fact, in the last Test he played, he picked up a five-wicket haul for his country. Surely, Kuldeep should replace Nadeem in the side for the second Test.