"Would it not be better to move forward at 1-1 than 2-0?" - Aakash Chopra on Jasprit Bumrah being rested for ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned Shubman Gill and company for resting Jasprit Bumrah for the second Test against England. He wondered whether India wouldn't have wanted to head into the third Test at Lord's after leveling the five-match series.

India rested Bumrah for the second Test in Birmingham, with Akash Deep replacing him in the XI. The visitors ended Day 1 (Wednesday, July 2) at 310/5 after being asked to bat first.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener questioned whether the visitors wouldn't have been better off playing Bumrah, their most potent bowler, to try and draw parity in the series before heading to Lord's.

"Jasprit Bumrah is fit, but we won't play him. We are 1-0 down, we are thinking about 1-1, but it would be slightly difficult to think about it with Bumrah, or the Lord's pitch would be better for Bumrah. How do you know that pitch would be better? A very dry surface might be provided, as it happened in the WTC final," Chopra said (4:05).

"If you have shown your hand, that you won't play Bumrah here, but at Lord's, it's a greater incentive for England to prepare a pitch where Bumrah gets nullified. Also, would it not be better to move forward at 1-1 than 2-0? I am not saying that you cannot win the match with the XI you have played, but your best chance of taking 20 wickets, is it with Bumrah or without Bumrah?" he added.

Aakash Chopra noted that India resting Jasprit Bumrah after a seven-day break makes very little sense. He termed the seamer's absence from the XI a shocking development.

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"Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan had similar returns" - Aakash Chopra on the latter being dropped for ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Sai Sudharsan scored 30 runs in India's second innings of the first Test against England. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra questioned India for dropping Sai Sudharsan, highlighting that the left-handed batter and Karun Nair fared similarly in the first Test.

"You played Sai Sudharsan one match, made him bat at No. 3, and No. 3 has become a revolving door. Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul have also played there, and you played Karun Nair at No. 3 here. If you see the first match, Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan had similar returns," he said (6:30).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the move implies the Indian think tank admitted that they erred in their selection in the series opener, highlighting that Sudharsan hadn't fared poorly.

"When you drop Sai Sudharsan after just one match, zero in one innings and 30 in the second innings, you said your earlier decision was wrong because you could have kept Karun Nair at No. 3 earlier also and played Nitish Kumar Reddy at No. 6. You gave the kid his debut and then dropped him without him doing a terrible job. Everyone won't score a century on debut," Chopra observed.

Karun Nair scored 31 runs off 50 deliveries after being promoted to No. 3 in India's first innings of the second Test in Sai Sudharsan's absence. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who replaced the Tamil Nadu batter in the XI, managed a solitary run off six deliveries at No. 6.