The Indian team is all set to face England in the second Test of the series at Edgbaston on Wednesday, July 2.
India is currently trailing 1-0 in the five-match series after England won the opener at Headingley by five wickets.
One reason cited for India's loss at Headingley was the lack of lower-order contributions. Despite dominant batting from the team's top and middle order, the batting collapsed in both innings: 430/3 to 470 all-out in the first and 287/4 to 364 all-out in the second.
The Indian top five batters scored five centuries among themselves in the Test match but still ended up on the losing side. That was the first instance in Test cricket history where a team lost the match despite having five centurions.
📲 Follow The Sporting News India on WhatsApp
To fix the lower-order woes, India is expected to bring in Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy, according to an Indian Express report. The batting all-rounder impressed with the bat during the tour of Australia last year, including a memorable century at the MCG.
Will Sai Sudharsan play IND vs ENG 2nd Test?
According to the Indian Express, India is likely to enter the second match of the series with three all-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Reddy, and Sundar. The two new additions will reportedly replace Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur in the lineup.
With the addition of two all-rounders, Sudharsan, who batted at No. 3 during his Test debut at Headingley, might have to make way. During the first Test, he scored 0 and 30 in each of the innings, but that might not be the reason for his exclusion - it is likely to do with restructuring the team combination.
Who will bat at 3 for India in the 2nd Test at Edgbaston?
According to the Express report, with a possible vacancy left at No. 3 after Sudharsan's exclusion, Karun Nair is the top candidate to be promoted up the order.
Nair previously batted at No. 6 on his Test return. With his promotion, Jadeja will bat at No. 6, followed by Reddy and Sundar at 7 and 8, respectively.
READ MORE: Race to WTC Final 2027: Latest updated points table
Nair had returned to the Indian Test team after eight years but was dismissed on 0(4) and 20(54). Both times were deemed soft dismissals and he will hope to bounce back, replicating his domestic cricket performances.
During the 2024–25 season, Nair amassed 863 runs in nine Ranji Trophy matches, including four centuries. He followed that up with an excellent Vijay Hazare trophy season, scoring 779 runs in eight matches with five centuries.
Nair had also scored a double-hundred in the build-up of the series against England Lions.
India's Predicted Playing XI in 2nd Test vs England
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- KL Rahul
- Karun Nair
- Shubman Gill (c)
- Rishabh Pant (wk)
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Washington Sundar
- Mohammed Siraj
- Akash Deep
- Prasidh Krishna