Is This India’s Best Possible XI for the Second Test?

India’s tour of England started with high expectations for the Indian fans, under the captaincy of Shubman Gill. But it seems that all hopes have now been shattered as India lost the first match brutally, even after posting a massive total of 371 runs on the board.

With plenty of gaps between the first and second Test, the team must have looked forward to the changes needed to solve the mistakes that took place in the first match. Now, the main question comes regarding the changes in the team playing XI for the second Test at Birmingham.

Before heading to the next game, it should also be noted that India has never won a single match against England in Tests at this ground. Along with that, the team is reportedly going without Jasprit Bumrah in the next game, which would likely increase their challenges even more.

The team will certainly have some changes for the second Test match against England. Also, England has announced that they will be heading with the same line-up in the second match too, which means no Archer in the team. Let’s take a look at the best possible line-up for India in the second Test.

Top Order

The top order of the Indian side did well, except Sai Sudharsan, and there could be another suitable option for the team in his place. Here’s the predicted top order of the team in the 2nd Test:

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal, the young talent of the Indian team, surely made some mistakes while catching or fielding at the slips. But it can’t deny the fact that he holds dominance against England even on their own home ground. This makes him likely to be a part of the Indian team in the next game.

In the first match, Jaiswal went on to score 101 runs in the first innings, with 16 fours and one six, dominating all the English bowlers. This time, the ground will be new to him, but he seems to be ready for all the challenges. If he is able to improve his catching efficiency for the next game, it would make him a game-changer for India.

KL Rahul

KL Rahul or Classy Rahul, both names suit him to a great extent, as he played both innings in the first match with elegance. Getting promoted to the top-order, he has showcased in the first Test why he is the most versatile batsman for the Indian cricket team.

Opening with Yashasvi Jaiswal, the duo had a partnership of 91 and 16 in the first match. KL Rahul went on to score 42 runs off 78 balls in the first innings and later smashed 137 runs off 247 balls in the second innings, showcasing his risk-free approach.

Abhimanyu Easwaran

In the first match, India played with Sai Sudharsan coming down at number 3. He made his debut despite being injured (according to some reports), and scored 0 & 30 runs respectively in both innings. Replacing him with Abhimanyu Easwaran could be a better decision, as Easwaran holds more experience in the First-class format.

Player	Matches	Innings	Not Out	Runs	High Score	Average	Strike Rate	100s	50s
Abhimanyu Easwaran	103	177	16	7841	233	48.70	54.12	27	31
Sai Sudharsan	30	51	0	1987	213	38.96	55.10	7	5

Even in the matches against England Lions, Abhimanyu Easwaran was the team’s captain, as he scored two half-centuries in both matches combined. Having played 103 First-class matches, he has also scored 27 centuries and 31 half-centuries, making him a noticeable asset.

Middle-Order

The middle-order did well for the Indian team, which highlights that no such changes in the same could be good for the lineup.

Shubman Gill

The team’s new skipper, Shubman Gill, will now be ready for a big challenge against England in the second Test. His captaincy was on point, but with a few mistakes and luck favouring England, India lost the first match. The captain, who has also taken the spot of Virat Kohli, will be eager to secure it completely in the next game.

In the first Test, he smashed a century, which also helped him to join the Elite list of Test captains to score a century on their captaincy debut. He was also the top scorer for India in the first innings, scoring 147, dominating the English bowlers with ease.

Rishabh Pant

If there was a batsman who dominated completely in the first Test, it was Rishabh Pant. It didn’t matter to him whether it was Chris Woakes or Josh Tongue, he just went all in to smash boundaries wherever he wanted. This helped Pant to smash double centuries in the match, despite India losing the game.

His aggression and intent were clear from the very first ball, as he scored 134 runs in the first innings and 118 runs in the second innings. If he can control his risky shots, he could score 200+ runs in an innings in the second match.

Karun Nair

Karun Nair seems to be the perfect batsman for the team at number six, as he looked even better in touch in the second innings of the game. Marking his comeback to the Indian team after years, Nair was out for a duck in the first innings and scored 20 in the second.

He will be looking forward to pulling up the greatest comeback by an Indian batsman in Test cricket, as he prepares for the next match. The fact that he scored a triple century for the Indian team cannot be denied, making him a reliable batsman at this spot.

Ravindra Jadeja

Although Jadeja failed to contribute well to the team with the ball, you can’t keep him away from the game. The first innings of the match didn’t go as expected for him, as he scored just 11 runs and took no wickets. However, he was able to regain his momentum in the second innings.

Scoring 25 runs, he even took a wicket while England was chasing down the target. He will be looking forward to troubling the English batsmen with his bowling skills, and even try to contribute more with the bat.

Lower-Order

In the lower order, the team will surely be needing some changes, as there are reports that Jasprit Bumrah won’t be available in the second Test.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

A batting all-rounder who can contribute well to the team, can be Nitish Kumar Reddy. India had played with Shardul Thakur in the first match, and he was not able to perform upto the expectations. Scoring just 5 runs combined in both innings, he took 2 wickets at an economy of above 5.

He could be replaced with Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has proved to be a worthy asset to the Indian line-up. Nitish already performed his best in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he also scored a century. In the matches against England Lions, he also constantly contributed with the bat and ball.

Arshdeep Singh

With Jasprit Bumrah being unavailable in the next game, it will be the perfect opportunity for Arshdeep Singh to make his Test debut. Ever since his debut in the limited-overs format, he has dominated well for the Indian team, and the English conditions will suit him well.

Known for his swing, Arshdeep could come down as the opening bowler for the Indian team in the second Test. Moreover, he also played in the County Championship 2023 for Kent, gaining some experience on the English conditions. Being the sole left-handed pacer, Arshdeep will be eager to create an impact on his debut.

Mohammed Siraj

Since Bumrah is likely to be unavailable in the team for the second Test, there needs to be someone with experience. Mohammed Siraj will be the best option for the team in this case, and it can also prove to be an opportunity for him to lead the team’s bowling line-up from the front.

In the first Test, Siraj took 2 wickets in the first innings but went down for none in the second. However, it seems that he will be eager to take the lead with the bowl for the Indian line-up, and focus on giving challenges to the English batsmen. Siraj was also among the economic pacers for the Indian team in the first Test.

Prasidh Krishna

At last, the team could continue with Prasidh Krishna, as he was the only bowler for the team to constantly take wickets. Krishna took 3 wickets in the first innings and 2 wickets in the second innings, despite his economy rate going above 6 in both of them.

Prasidh Krishna conceded a good amount of runs in Headingley, but if Birmingham favours the bowlers more, he would come out to be the highest wicket-taker for the team. This time, he will be eager to create a mark in the team, taking the crucial wickets whenever they are needed the most. He was also able to do the same in the first match, but leaked a good total of runs.

This is our predicted XI for India in the second Test match against England. Let’s now see what changes the team would implement in the match against England to secure a win.