“I’d like to have those three in my team” - Former captain slams India playing 11 for ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former England captain Michael Vaughan remarked that Team India have made a massive mistake by not including the bowling trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh in the playing XI for the second Test against England. The Men in Blue went with a bold team selection instead, despite being 0-1 down in the series, opting to include the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep.

The series scoreline, Bumrah's workload management, and a timid bowling display by the support bowlers in the first Test left India with several questions to answer. The management became open to the idea of fielding an extra spinner, but Kuldeep Yadav continued to be sidelined due to batting depth concerns.

Michael Vaughan opined that England would be delighted by the fact that they neither have to face Jasprit Bumrah nor Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test.

"When you look at no Bumrah, no Kuldeep, and no Arshdeep, you've got three bowlers that I am looking at that I'd like to have those three in my team. If you are not going to play Bumrah, you have got play someone like Kuldeep. I would say that the England side are probably sat in their dressing room quite pleased," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz after Day 1.

He also expressed surprise at the visitors' decision to reveal Bumrah's workload management plan prior to the series itself.

"I've been bamboozled by the fact that India have announced that Jasprit Bumrah is only going to play three Tests. Why would you tell England that he is only going to play three? Just don't say anything. If you are not going to pick him, that's fine. On the back of seven days off, on the back of India going 0-1 down, I thought he would have played here," he added.

With only a three-day gap between the second and the third Test of the series, Bumrah is expected to turn up at Lord's after a prolonged two-week rest period. The speedster pulled off a marathon shift in the first Test at Headingley, Leeds, bowling 43.4 overs in the five-wicket loss.

"The tail-enders are not there to win you a game with the bat in hand" - Michael Vaughan slams Team India's batting depth fixation in ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Team India stacked their team with all-rounders to strengthen the lower middle-order following the twin collapses in the series opener. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar's inclusion meant that the playing XI included three all-rounders to make up for the tail's lack of contribution with the bat.

Team India's bowlers were panned for their poor judgement and rash strokeplay in the first Test as it impacted their lead across both innings.

Vaughan slammed the visitors' tactic to stack up their batting instead of focusing on how to include more wicket-taking options.

"I looked at the batting at Headingley, and I thought India batted beautifully. Batting was not the problem, the tail-enders are not there to win you a game with the bat in hand. They could have played with more sense, but Test cricket is all about 20 wickets," Vaughan stated.

The former skipper also suggested a radical approach of including three spinners in the playing XI as the dry surface promises turn as the game progresses.

"Potentially, you could argue that you could have gone with three spinners on this kind of surface here at Edgbaston, which is dry and slow. If India are going to get 20 wickets here this week, I think the two spinners are going to have to play a big part," he added.

The Men in Blue are placed at 310-5 at Stumps on Day 1. Skipper Shubman Gill stepped up to record his second hundred of the series while Ravindra Jadeja has played a vital hand at the other end after coming in at 211-5.