Star pacer Mohammed Siraj was released from India's squad ahead of the second Test against England, which went underway in Visakhapatnam on February 2, Friday. Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test against England at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. On being asked about India's playing XI for the second Test, Rohit revealed that Mohammed Siraj has been rested so that he can spend time at home before he comes back and is available for the third Test.
Meanwhile BCCI also explained the rationale behind releasing Siraj.
“Mr Mohd. Siraj has been released from the India squad for the second Test against England in Vizag. The decision was taken keeping in mind the duration of the series and the amount of cricket he has played in recent times. He will be available for selection for the third Test in Rajkot. Avesh Khan has re-joined the team for the second Test,” BCCI said in a statement.
Rajat Patidar was handed India's Test debut while Mohammed Siraj has been rested from the second Test against England, as updated by the BCCI. Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar replaced Siraj in the squad, Kuldeep Yadav has been included in place of Ravindra Jadeja in India's playing XI.
Rohit Sharma after winning the toss said,"We'll bat first. Looks a good pitch, the pitch will do its thing, we need to play good cricket. What happened in Hyderabad is history, we need to move on. We have spoken on things we need to do, now we need to execute on our plans. I thought we batted well in the first innings, but didn't have the same intent. Similarly, in the second innings with the bowl there was a brilliant knock by Ollie Pope. Injuries are part and parcel of the game, but that's why we have the guys sitting on the bench. Two forced changes - Jadeja and KL miss out, and Siraj has been rested. We've got Mukesh, Kuldeep and Rajat Patidar making his debut."
Meanwhile, England skipper Ben Stokes said,"Would have batted as well. It was a great last week, but we know India will come back hard. To come from behind like we did was very pleasing. We'll take the confidence from that, but new week now. It is an amazing atmosphere to play in for the boys. To get such an opportunity at the start of their career will do wonders for their confidence."
India's Playing XI
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav.
England's Playing XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.
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