India are yet to win a Test match at Edgbaston.
One of the greatest batters of his time, Mohammad Azharuddin, reckoned that India should add left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test against England at Edgbaston. He believes Kuldeep’s inclusion could reduce the pressure on Jasprit Bumrah, adding that the team is overly dependent on him.
This comes after India lost the first game against England by five wickets at Headingley. The Indian bowlers were not effective against the English batters in the fourth innings in Leeds despite the fact that the visitors managed to post massive scores in both innings.
The likes of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul ended up scoring centuries, helping India post huge totals. However, the Indian middle order collapsed as they lost six wickets for just 31 runs in the second innings, going from 333/4 to 364 all out.
MAL
55/0
HKG
52/4
WI
–
AUS
–
RWA
157/5
ML
158/1
Malawi beat Rwanda by 9 wickets
TBC
–
TBC
–
ROM
178/6
LUX
133/10
Romania won by 45 runs
HUN
168/9
AUST
169/6
Austria beat Hungary by 4 wickets
AUST
245/7
LUX
179/5
Austria beat Luxembourg by 66 runs
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
ALZ
88/10
JIHCC
163/4
Jinnah CC Stockholm beat Alby Zalmi by 75 runs
RPH
123/6
MAR
150/4
Marsta CC beat Rising Phoenix by 27 runs
JIHCC
153/9
ALZ
168/4
Alby Zalmi CC beat Jinnah CC by 15 runs
RPH
166/4
JIHCC
78/10
Rising Phoenix beat Jinnah CC by 88 runs
ALZ
100/5
RPH
99/7
Alby Zalmi CC beat Rising Phoenix by 5 wickets
RPH
–
JIHCC
–
HDN
–
ALZ
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
EWW-W
40/10
LSN-W
88/9
Lesotho Women beat Eswatini Women by 48 runs
BOT-W
143/6
MWW-W
78/10
Botswana Women beat Malawi Women by 65 runs
RWA-W
135/7
SLO-W
84/10
Rwanda Women beat Sierra Leone Women by 51 runs
CW-W
88/8
MZW-W
87/8
Cameroon Women beat Mozambique Women by 2 wickets
GUJCC
–
SUL
–
CHK
–
TCC
–
FRC
122/4
KLG
108/6
Fatemi Resources Cricket Club beat KL Gladiators by 14 runs
JBK
80/4
SWCL
106/5
Sky Warriors Cricket Club beat JB Kings by 26 runs
UTC
78/4
MXC
80/2
Maxx Cricket Club beat Utkal Cricket Club by 8 wickets
MKP
75/4
MBMS
73/10
MR KB Putrajaya beat MB Malik Sports UMZ by 6 wickets
FRC
–
MXC
–
JBK
–
MBMS
–
UTC
–
KLG
–
MKP
–
SWCL
–
UAE
141/5
NIG
88/10
United Arab Emirates beat Nigeria by 53 runs
KNY
126/6
NBA
123/2
Kenya beat Namibia A by 3 runs
KNY
–
NIG
–
UAE
–
UGA
–
VMK
–
MMS
–
MAK
154/9
BDS
155/4
Boost Defenders beat Mis Ainak Knights by 6 wickets
ASS
174/4
SGT
173/6
Amo Sharks beat Speen Ghar Tigers by 6 wickets
WIU19-W
67/5
USAU19-W
66/9
West Indies Women U19 beat United States Of America Women U19 by 5 wickets
WIU19-W
–
USAU19-W
–
TBLZ-W
–
BRB-W
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
Match Cancelled
SUR-W
–
TBC
–
IAC
203/4
AAC
207/6
Australia Champions beat India Champions by 4 wickets
PNC
95/1
WIC
–
SAC
–
AAC
–
IAC
–
EDC
–
NZ
180/5
SA
177/6
New Zealand beat South Africa by 3 runs
IRE-W
288/9
ZIM-W
182/8
The former India player said that the team must think about adding Kuldeep into their playing XI in the second Test. Edgbaston’s pitch is likely to be dry, and it could assist spinners like Kuldeep. On the other hand, Bumrah will only be playing in the three Test matches, and his participation in the second Test is still under the scanner.
“They are too much dependent on Bumrah. It’s not easy because you need more experienced bowlers, and they should play Kuldeep Yadav. We lost because of batting collapse, but anyways now they have to pick the right players and bowling has to be perfect,” Azharuddin told PTI.
As of now, the Uttar Pradesh-based spinner has taken part in 13 Test matches and scalped 56 wickets with the help of four five-wicket hauls. He can deceive the batter with his slower balls, and at the same time, he can bring the ball in, which can help India in the middle overs.
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During the first Test, Bumrah was the lone warrior as he scalped a total of five wickets. On the back of his terrific bowling, the English side was restricted to 465 runs in the first innings.
In the second innings, the Indian bowlers looked clueless as the hosts chased down 371 runs on the last day. India will be facing England in the second Test, starting from July 2 at Edgbaston. Under the leadership of Shubman Gill, the visitors will look to make an impact to level the series.
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Malaysia won by 10 wickets