“They should have stuck with him for a couple of games” - Former RCB star’s blunt take on India playing 11 for ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik questioned the side's decision to drop bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur after just one Test of the ongoing England series. The visitors made three changes to the 11 that lost the series opener in Leeds for the second Test in Edgbaston.

While Jasprit Bumrah was excluded due to workload management, Shardul and Sai Sudharsan were dropped in favor of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar.

Shardul endured a poor outing in the first Test at Leeds, with combined figures of 2/89 in 16 overs. He also scored only five runs across the two innings as India's lower-order collapsed to concede dominant positions in both innings.

Talking about India ringing in multiple changes for the second Test, Karthik told Sky Sports (2:34):

"Have to admit it shows a bit of muddled thinking. If they wanted to go with Shardul (Thakur), they should have stuck with him for a couple of games. If it was Nitish Kumar Reddy, stick with him. When you chop and change, it makes it uncomfortable because there is not too much of a difference between the Leeds pitch and this one. So, just the result has forced you to go in a different direction."

He added:

"When it comes to Shardul vs Nitish or Washington to Kuldeep, if you are going to do this after one Test, it just says you are reacting a certain way to one Test loss. They would want to stay away from that and stay as balanced as they can."

Meanwhile, former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara believes the changes in the XI stemmed from their recent string of defeats in Tests.

"It's not just a reaction to the one Test loss, I think there is a little bit of chat about the last nine Tests, seven losses, one win and one draw. There is a little bit of that baggage as well to try and turn that pattern around, so there was a lot of pressure and they were looking at this particular Test match in isolation and rung in all the changes," he said (3.38).

Sai Sudharsan debuted in Tests in the opening game, scoring a combined 30 runs across the two innings. However, he was dropped for the ongoing second Test, with the side pushing Karun Nair up the order at No. 3.

"Would have loved to see a Kuldeep and an Arshdeep" - Dinesh Karthik on India's 11 for second England Test

Dinesh Karthik believes Team India should have played Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Yadav in the 11 instead of Washington Sundar and Akash Deep for the Edgbaston Test. Kuldeep has played only 13 Tests since his debut in 2017 despite boasting a stellar record overall and against England.

Meanwhile, Arshdeep is yet to debut in Tests despite being a regular in their white-ball setup.

"I would have loved to see a Kuldeep and an Arshdeep. Arshdeep purely because he bowls a fuller length and in England, that works really nicely. Akash Deep bowls slightly short of length," said Karthik (via the aforementioned source).

Coming to the on-field action in the ongoing second Test, India are in a strong position at 310/5 at the end of Day 1, having been asked to bat first by England captain Ben Stokes.