The Indian team’s selection for the second Test of the current five-match series against England has drawn criticism from former Australian cricketer Tom Moody. He referred to the current game’s selection as “baffling” and emphasised India’s “fixation on all-rounders”.
He believed that there should be no compromise with specialist batsmen and bowlers and that enhancing the batting and bowling abilities of all-rounders had never produced results. Following three changes to their XI from the first Test, India substituted Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy for Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur, respectively.
“It is puzzling that India was chosen for this test. No, Bumrah is one thing, but it’s risky to have just five specialised batsmen. It has never worked to focus on all-rounders who are there to provide depth with the bat and the ball.
“Experts will always provide more than a test,” Tom Moody wrote on X.
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. #ENGvIND— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) July 2, 2025
Many people agreed with the analyst and said that India ought to have chosen Kuldeep Yadav instead of Sundar. After just one game, some people also said that the team management shouldn’t have changed Sudharsan’s position. In the first game of the series at Headingley, the left-hander did not have the best of performances.
The majority of cricket fans believed that Kuldeep should be given the opportunity to support Ravindra Jadeja in the spin-bowling department. But India advanced with Sundar and Nitish in addition to Jadeja. In the meantime, India’s decision to bench Jasprit Bumrah after just one game and replace him with Akash Deep as the starting pacer has also drawn criticism.
After losing the first Test by a margin of five wickets, India is now behind in the series. The hosts took the lead going into the current match after successfully pursuing a challenging mark of 371 in the fourth innings.
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