"Not playing Kuldeep is a safe decision" - Former England captain blasts India's move to leave wrist spinner out of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former England captain Michael Vaughan criticized the Indian team management's decision to leave Kuldeep Yadav out of the ongoing second Test against England on Wednesday, July 2. The game is being played at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Michael Vaughan termed India's decision of not playing Kuldeep 'safe'. He stated that the only way to get out of a losing streak was by taking risks and felt batting was never the problem.

"Not playing Kuldeep is a safe decision. They've not picked what I believe is a bowler that could easily get 6 or 7 wickets in a Test match. You have to get 20. The pitch is pretty dry. Surely you have to play a leg-spinner. I think India gone for a safe selection," he said on Sony Sports Network.

"When a team goes behind and starts losing you start selecting for safe. The only way to get out of that losing streak is to go for it and take risks. I think this is a very very safe selection. It might work and they might bat great. It's not the batting that was the problem at Headingley," he added.

Notably, India have added Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar as two all-rounders in the team for the second Test to strengthen the batting. However, with Jasprit Bumrah missing out as well due to workload management, the decision not to include an attacking bowling option in Kuldeep Yadav has been criticized by many.

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India failed to pick up wickets consistently at Headingley

India lost the first Test by five wickets at Headingley and were 0-1 down in the series. Among the key factors for their defeat was the inability to pick up 20 wickets in the game.

In the first innings, they bowled England out for 364, where Bumrah led the charge with a five-wicket haul. Prasidh Krishna picked up three wickets while Mohammed Siraj chipped in with two.

However, in the second innings, while defending a target of 371, India failed to bowl England out. The hosts got over the line comfortably in 82 overs. Bumrah went wicketless, which reflected on how difficult it was for the other bowlers to threaten the English batters and create impact.

As the visitors aim to bounce back in the second Test and draw level, their bowlers will have to step up and take 20 wickets.