Is Shardul Thakur playing today’s ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test?

Team India's seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur didn't find a place in the side's playing XI for the second Test of the ongoing five-match away Test series against England. The contest kicked off at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Wednesday, July 2.

Shardul played in India's Test series opener at Headingley, Leeds. However, he failed to shine with both bat and ball. The right-arm pacer bowled just six overs and remained wicketless in England's first innings.

He picked up two scalps in the fourth innings, where the hosts chased down a mammoth 371-run target with five wickets in hand. The lower-order batter endured failures in both innings, registering scores of 1 and 4.

Following the defeat at Headingley, Shubman Gill and Co. made a few changes to their lineup, which included the exclusion of Thakur. Meanwhile, England won the toss and chose to field first at Edgbaston.

Here are the two playing XIs:

IND: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill(captain), Rishabh Pant(wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

ENG: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(captain), Jamie Smith(wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir

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"He is your guy who can get you wickets" - Ajinkya Rahane wanted India to persist with Shardul Thakur for ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former India Test skipper Ajinkya Rahane had urged the Indian team management to give Shardul Thakur another go after the five-wicket defeat in the opening encounter. He opined that the 33-year-old would have been a wicket-taking option for skipper Shubman Gill.

Speaking about India's playing XI for the second Test, here's what Rahane said in his YouTube video:

"I think if Bumrah doesn't play I would like to see Arshdeep Singh playing. If there is bounce and little grass on the wicket then continue with Prasidh Krishna. If it looks dry and the weather is also hot, then in place of Prasidh Krishna my choice will be Kuldeep Yadav. And Ravindra Jadeja as two spinners. If Bumrah doesn't play then Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.

"I would like to see Shardul playing this Test because he is your guy who can get you wickets. So these three and two spinners. If there is good bounce and movement then back Prasidh Krishna. He will be the right guy on a seaming wicket."

It is worth noting that Shardul Thakur looked in stunning form in India's intra-squad match ahead of the series. He played a blistering 122*-run knock off just 68 deliveries.