India are all set to take on England in the second Test of the five-match series against England from July 2 (Wednesday) at the iconic Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. They will be looking to win the match and level the series after a crushing loss in the first Test. One f the major points of concern for Team India in that loss was the batting of the lower order in both innings. While the top order scored heaps of runs, India suffered a late batting collapse in both innings. Head coach Gautam Gambhir might have addressed this situation ahead of the second Test, with an experiment on Mohammed Siraj.

Under the watchful eyes of batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, Mohammed Siraj spent a significant amount of time batting in the nets. He was playing defensive shots with lighter hands, and also was practicing leaving deliveries outside off-stump. This was a rare exercise in the net sessions for a bowler and tailender. This hints that Gautam Gambhir wants his lower order to hold ground and not give their wicket away, so that they can prevent another batting collapse.

During the practice session in Birmingham, both Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna arrived at the venue, but did not hit the nets right from the outset. Hence, it can be inferred that both these bowlers might not play in the second Test. While Bumrah might miss out due to workload management, Krishna would be dropped for his poor performance.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel were heavily focussed on Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh during the practice session. At first, Morkel spoke with Akash Deep, while Gambhir was behind the nets. Then, Gambhir came in front and had a long discussion first with him, and then followed by Arshdeep Singh. Both Akash and Arshdeep were bowling with the new ball in the net, hinting that they can open the bowling for India at Headingley.