ENG vs IND Tests | Skipper Gill points to fielding two spinners in second Test

The curiosity and chatter around India’s team composition leading into the second Test against England has come to resemble a long, drawn-out soap opera. Yet another episode played out on Tuesday (July 1, 2025) afternoon at Edgbaston in Birmingham, again without any conclusion.

Shubman Gill was the director in charge, and the only thing he said at the pre-match media conference with a fair amount of certainty was that India would play two spinners, and left the decision on Jasprit Bumrah’s inclusion for the last minute.

“In the previous match, if we had had an extra spinner in the fourth innings, the game could have been better,” Gill said, referring to the five-wicket defeat in Leeds last week. “There were some patches in the wicket that could have been exploited. Whenever Jaddu [Ravindra Jadeja] bhai was bowling, chances were being created.

“We also feel that it is easier for spinners to contain runs than fast bowlers, especially when the ball gets old. If you don’t take wickets, it becomes very difficult. We bowled well but dropped a few catches too. It’s not easy when you are constantly dropping catches.”

However, stocking up on bowling options also requires the team management to be mindful of the batting depth that is required to pile on the runs.

Unknown

Who among left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar, and medium-pace bowling all-rounders in Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur will play is still unknown.

“I guess you would want batting depth till No. 7… and if your No. 8 can bat a little bit,” Gill said to a pointed question on how much depth is good enough in batting-friendly conditions.

“If you are going till No. 9, it is difficult to take 20 wickets. If we are able to go with four or five premier bowlers and have our batting till No. 7 or 8, it would be a good combination”.