Three big changes were made to the Indian team that recorded a five-wicket defeat against England in the first Test of the five-match series at Headingley. For the match at Edgbaston, the team management decided to bench Jasprit Bumrah, Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur. In their place, they brought in the likes of Akash Deep, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar into the playing XI.
However, many experts including Sunil Gavaskar and Tom Moody weren't satisfied with the selection and called out Gautam Gambhir & Co. for the 'baffling' choices that they made.
Gavaskar and Moody weren't happy with the changes
"If your top-order batters are not giving you the runs you expect, then Washington at seven or Nitish Reddy at eight won't necessarily fix that, because those weren't the batters who failed you in the first Test. You scored 830 runs. You didn't score 380 in two innings — it was 830-plus. That's a lot of runs. So, where you needed strengthening was in the wicket-taking department, not so much in the batting," Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.
"India’s selection for this test is baffling. No Bumrah is one thing, but to only have 5 specialist batsmen is a gamble. The fixation on all-rounders who are there to offer depth with bat and ball has never worked. Specialists are always going to offer more over a test," Moody wrote on X.
Amid the growing criticism, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has defended the team management for the changes that they made and in particular, was satisfied with Sundar's selection in the playing XI. According to Pathan, the all-rounder's inclusion will not only help the lower-order a lot, but will also help India's bowling department.
“I’m not buying the narrative that playing Washington Sundar is a negative move. It’s actually an attempt to fix what’s been missing for a while — lower-order resistance. And let’s not forget, he will contribute with the ball too. Specially vs English batters,” Pathan wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Sundar's last appearance for the Men in Blue in red-ball cricket came during the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar series 2024/25 against Australia in Sydney. He so far has 468 runs and 25 wickets under his name in just nine Tests and will be looking to increase his tally when he takes the field against England in the second Test.