India team management is facing the heat after skipper Shubman Gill revealed the playing XI for the ongoing 2nd Test at Edgbaston. The omission of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah and instead field three all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Shardul Thakur, has triggered sharp criticism.

The decision is being perceived as overly defensive and has put Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir under massive pressure, with critics accusing the management of lacking clarity and conviction in strategy.

The backlash was immediate and intense.

"India playing 3 all rounders is clear cut sign they are scared shitless....no kuldeep is baffling..sundar and jadeja are one dimensional..and i dont understand why jadeja is playing after the howler of a game in leeds where he couldnt pitch ont he rough," one fan vented on social media.

Another reaction pointed to a fundamental misread of the team’s recent shortcomings.

"I think the Indian management didn't understand the reason for the defeat — it was mainly the bowlers' inability to pick 20 wickets. Kuldeep Yadav should have played this test."

A third reaction summed up the sentiment with brutal candour:

"Most confused team management! Sai goes from number 3 to 12th man, and your 2 best wicket takers are watching from outside."

“Gautam Gambhir’s genius for playing bits-and-pieces players as all-rounders will do India in. He did this in Australia, he’s doing it again,” pointed out another.

With India already 0-1 down in the series, calls for accountability over selection choices will only grow louder with each passing day, especially if the gamble on all-rounders backfires.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (capt), Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.