Ryan Doeschate slightly confirmed the team selection ahead of the 2nd Test, as he teased the names of Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy to be part of the playing XI in Edgbaston.
Doeschate, who addressed the press ahead of the match, hinted at India’s potential playing XI and also commented on Jasprit Bumrah’s availability.
The Assistant Coach acknowledged Nitish Kumar Reddy’s strong performances in Australia. However, Reddy didn’t feature in the first Test due to his inability to bowl longer spells. India instead went with Shardul Thakur as the bowling all-rounder.
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Nitish Reddy Likely to Feature in 2nd Test, Says Ten Doeschate
“Nitish is very close to getting a game. 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.” as quoted by Indian Express
In a recent development, it was noted that Reddy could be included in the second Test — either replacing Thakur or playing alongside him if Bumrah misses out. Notably, Reddy was seen practicing slip catching drills, replacing Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“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.” Ten Doeschate said
We haven’t made a call on Bumrah - Ryan
Speaking about Jasprit Bumrah’s availability, Doeschate gave a diplomatic response. He confirmed that Bumrah is technically available, but the final decision will depend on conditions and may be made just before the toss.
“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 four Tests, we haven’t made a call on that.
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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.”
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I’m pretty sure two spinners will play in this Test match.”
The Edgbaston pitch, on first impression, appeared quite dry underneath, despite having a few grassy patches. These conditions could prompt India to bring in two spinners. Doeschate highlighted that Washington Sundar may be preferred over Kuldeep Yadav due to his all-round ability.
“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. He added
There are so many different variables. The wicket’s got 11mm grass on the pitch at the moment, but it is quite dry underneath. There’s also rain forecast for Wednesday. So again, we are trying to weigh the two options, attacking-wise . ten doeschate concluded
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