'Usually we don't see two spinners in England but...': Shubman Gill's massive revelation why India will feature with an extra spin option in Edgbaston Test

India Test captain Shubman Gill explained why the team is going with two spinners in the second Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 against England. The 25-year-old star said that the team decided to go with an extra spin option in the Edgbaston Test after witnessing the conditions in the first Test match, which was played at Yorkshire Cricket Ground, Leeds in England.

England are currently leading 1-0 in the five-Test match series, and the second Test will take place from July 2 at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham.

"Usually we don't see two spinners in England but given the conditions in Leeds we thought having an extra spinner would have been good. I think on these conditions having a second spinner will be helpful. If the conditions are same, having a second spinner would be good" said Gill in while attending media on 2nd Test eve.

Earlier, India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate also confirmed that the side will add two spinners in their playing XI for the second Test against England. However, it is yet to be decided who will be picked between Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar.

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“There's a very strong chance of playing two spinners. It's just which two we play, and that goes back to the previous question about juggling the batting deck. All three spinners are bowling very nicely, watching the batting very nicely. So, it's just which combination to go with. All-rounder spinner or the out-and-out spinner. So, there's so many different variables.

“The wicket has got 11 mills (mm of grass) up at the moment, 11 or 12, I'm not sure which of the two, but it's quite grassy and patchy. It's quite dry underneath. There's also rain forecast for Wednesday, so, again, we're going to try to weigh up the two options of how long the bowling attack is” said Ryan ten Doeschate.

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Gill also revealed that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is available for selection for the second Test match but the team is trying to find the right balance between taking 20 wickets and scoring enough runs.

“We will take the Jasprit Bumrah call this evening. Jasprit Bumrah is available. We are trying to find the right combination which can pick 20 wickets and score runs as well. Will take final call after looking at the wicket for final time today," Gill said.

On the other hand, England have announced an unchanged playing XI for the second Test.

England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.