Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah wasn't included in India's playing XI for the all-important Edgbaston Test against England. This came after the 31-year-old had once again outperformed every other Indian bowler in the first Test of the ongoing series at Headingley by picking up a total of five wickets in the match, the most for the visitors. With the Men in Blue getting defeated in the first Test, many had expected Bumrah to be named in the playing XI for the second encounter, however it is the opposite that ended up happening.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan stated that he was left 'bamboozled' by the Indian team management's decision of dropping Bumrah. According to Vaughan, Gautam Gambhir & Co. should have played the pacer as they are already 1-0 down in the series.
“I've been bamboozled by the fact that India announced that Jasprit Bumrah is only playing three Tests. Why would you [be] telling them that? Just play three. If you don't pick him, fine. But, on the back of seven days and India down in the series, I thought he would've played here," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
“India have to win this game. They lose here, they're 2-0 down, you will bring Jasprit back in Lord's... I know the players want to play at Lord's. But I just look at India: they've got to win this week," he added.
Vaughan raised questions over India's playing XI
Vaughan also wasn't satisfied with India's selected playing XI and stated that both Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh should have featured in the match at Edgbaston. The Indian team management decided to play five specialist batters and three all-rounders in the XI and this left Vaughan surprised.
“I would've wanted two more bowlers. I would want Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh. You could potentially argue that you could've got on with three spinners on this kind of surface at Edgbaston. It's dry and slow,” Vaughan stated.
Meanwhile, captain Shubman Gill's double-hundred got India into a very strong position on the second day of the Edgbaston Test. The visitors crossed the 500-run mark for the loss of just six wickets as the England bowlers failed to stop the flow of runs. Ravindra Jadeja was the only Indian player who lost his wicket in the first session, departing after playing a valiant knock of 89.