India played the first Test against England with Ravindra Jadeja as the lone spinner.
India skipper Shubman Gill has hinted going with two spinners for the second Test against England that starts at Edgbaston from Wednesday.
Shubman Gill felt that had India had an extra spinner in the fourth innings, which was England’s run chase, India would have been in a better situation. During England’s first innings of the first Test last week, India were left to rely on pacer Jasprit Bumrah for wickets.
The Gujarat speedster eventually registered a five-wicket haul in the first innings, but went wicketless in the second innings. “It is not common to see two spinners playing in England. The weather [in Leeds] was not typical. It rained a lot and the sun was shining. In the last match also, we felt that if we had an extra spinner in the fourth inning, the game could have been better,” Shubman Gill said at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“We felt that it is easier to contain the runs for spinners than for fast bowlers, especially when the ball is old. In these conditions, the ball does not swing as much after 30-40 overs. The wickets are also good for batting. If fast bowlers are not able to create as many chances for fast bowlers, we feel that maybe a second spinner on these kinds of wickets will at least contain,” he added.
In the first Test, India went ahead with a pace-heavy attack, with Ravindra Jadeja being the lone spinner. The Saurashtra all-rounder went wicketless in the first innings before taking the wicket of Ben Stokes in the second innings.
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Ravindra Jadeja finished the second innings with figures of 1/104 from 24 overs. There is also a possibility of Kuldeep Yadav’s inclusion in the India XI for the second Test against England. India will be looking to level the series 1-1 in Birmingham.
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