India vs England 2nd Test: Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar Likely To Play; Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav Unlikely

‘Reddy is close to getting a game’

There was a white board at the Indian net session with the batting and bowling order written on it. It had an interesting entry at the top – all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was slated to play the lead bowler along wit frontline batsmen. Though written in a dark marker, this wasn’t quite the confirmation of the playing XI in black and white. But considering the two late-order Indian collapses in the first Test, Reddy needed to be match-ready. There was another clue about Reddy’s possible inclusion. Before the players hit the nets, he was next to the slip cordon of Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill with B Sai Sudharsan, fielding at gully. The last hint was Shardul Thakur’s rather low-key nets. He didn’t bowl when the main batsmen were padded up. Busy with batting, Nitish also bowled towards the end of nets.

Ryan ten Doeschate

Nitish is very close to getting a game. Obviously, he was fantastic in Australia. Coming into the team and playing the way he did. We just felt on balance for the last game, we wanted to go with the bowling all-rounder, which we thought Shardul was slightly ahead on the bowling front. We’re looking at ways of rejigging the puzzle so we can get a batting all-rounder in. And obviously, Nitish is our premium batting all-rounder at the moment. So I would say it’s a very good chance to play this Test.

‘Washy is batting nicely’

Washington Sundar got extra attention at the nets. He bowled for long alongside the two senior spinners – Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. The trio bowled to every top order batsman. While the spinners bowled, coach Gautam Gambhir and Bumrah watched them in the background with interest. They would chat with hands on the mouth, shielding themselves from even lip-readers. India was looking to play two spinners, though who would sit out was a million dollar question. It didn’t seem like Washington was the spinner. After bowling, he had an extended batting session against the three throw-down experts in the middle net. They were relentless in their attack, each bending their elbows to make the ball jump at the left-handed batsmen, who kept middling the ball. After a while he would take a break and again return to bat a bit more.

Ryan ten Doeschate

There is a very strong chance of playing two spinners. It’s just which two we play. All three spinners are bowling very nicely, while Washy is batting very nicely. So it is just about what combination. Do we go with an all-rounder spinner or a spinner? Then obviously you have to play the bowling all-rounder. So there’s so many different variables. The wicket’s got 11mm grass on the pitch at the moment but it is quite dry underneath but there’s also rain forecast for Wednesday. So again, we are trying to weigh the two options attacking-wise. But I’m pretty sure two spinners will play in this Test match.

‘Bumrah is available but … ‘

What about Jasprit Bumrah, will he play? The question that gets repeatedly asked by most Indian fans in Birmingham too didn’t have a clear answer. Bumrah turned up at the nets, he went through light running drills, did fielding and catching practice and also bowled a bit. He looked in rhythm but still there was enough reason for him to be rested. With barely a three-day gap between the second and third Test, it is unlikely India will risk over-bowling their main wicket-taker. As coach Gambhir said at the end of the first Test “regardless of the result of the Test, there can be no compromise on his workload management.”

Ryan ten Doeschate

Technically he’s available but we haven’t made a decision whether he’s going to play or not. Given conditions and workload and how we think we can best manage the next 4 Tests, we haven’t made a call on that. If we feel there’s value in playing him in this Test, we’ll make that call at the very last minute. Depending on weather and how the pitch is going to play, we will decide if it is better off holding him back for Lord’s, Manchester or the Oval. We feel we can go 1-1 or keep the score at 1-0 without Jasprit. And then again, that’s putting the eggs in the basket for the end of the series. We’re going to need them at some stage as well. You’ve got to decide when you’re going to play your strongest suits. And that’s what I was talking about, about the weather and all that.

‘Giving Jaiswal a break from gully’

Yashasvi Jaiswal, the gully fielder who missed three catches at Headingley, was fielding at short-leg where a coaching staff was conducting catching drills for spinners. The clues from the nets said India is looking to tweak this team and juggle their fielders too.

Ryan ten Doeschate

We always want depth in the catching department. In England, you’re always going to have four catches at some stage in the game. Yashasvi has been a very good catcher for us. We want to manage his confidence. There’s also an argument for the short-leg, you know, being a very important position, particularly if you are going to play two spinners. Maybe just give Yashasvi a break from catching at gully. His hands are quite sore. We want to get his confidence back up.

‘Need to see if we can fit in Kuldeep’

Kuldeep, the left-arm wrist spinner, had a long net session but the white board showed he was to face the local net bowlers not his team mates. If he was to be in the playing XI, considering the late-order batting concerns, he would have faced a test of fire against the top Indian bowlers.

Ryan ten Doeschate

We’re desperate. It would have been nice to have spin in the last game. Also, we’re trying to make the best assessment of what we see in front of us. So we know we’re going to need three seamers in this game. And it’s just how you manage No. 6, 7 and 8 in batting. And need to see whether we can fit Kuldeep in now or save him for later in the series. If the weather stays like I said, it should turn somewhere along the line.