Changes Team India can make in 2nd Test

After facing a close defeat in the first test of the five-match test series against England, India might opt for few changes for the Lords test.

India's batting failed miserably in both the innings in the first Test, however, the bowlers did the job by scalping 20 wickets. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri will be under a lot of pressure regarding team selection for the second encounter.

Will they make changes or trust the same bunch for the second time?

This will be the question, but here we tried to pinnacle the probable changes team India can make:

1- Karun Nair in place or Ajinkya Rahane

Karun Nair in place of Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane has scored a mere 118 runs in the last 7 test matches he played with the highest score of 48. These are bizarre statics for a batsman who once was the best overseas batter for India.

He could be well replaced by young Nair who has a triple century to his name, however, Nair too has just scored 54 runs in last three test matches.

2- Rishabh Pant in place of Dinesh Karthik

Pant in place of Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, the wicketkeeper-batsman who made his test return after 10 years against Afghanistan in June this year, has been in good form in limited overs cricket yet he has proved himself in whites, neither with gloves nor with the bat.

Owing to the few drop chances and batting failures in the first match, he might be replaced by southpaw Rishabh Pant who keeps wickets as well. Pant has been in tremendous form this year, be it in the IPL or with India A.

Pant's inclusion can also bring some variation in the Indian batting line-up with no left-handed batter in the squad other than Dhawan at the top.

3- Ravindra Jadeja in for Hardik Pandya

Jadeja in for Pandya

A few years ago, Ravindra Jadeja was an irreplaceable option in any format for team India but the recent insertions in the team with the likes of the Chahal-Kuldeep duo and the Pandya explosion have made it hard for him to find a place in the team.

However, the stats speak something different as he has 33 wickets to his name from the last 7 test matches along with 208 runs with the bat.

On the other hand, Hardik Pandya hasn't taken a single wicket in the previous 4 international Test matches he played.

Jadeja can be handy in Lords as there may be a bit of movement for spinners later in the match. However, it would reduce a seam bowling option, which English pitches mostly favour.

These are the three changes that India can make in the second test that starts from 9th August.