One spinner or two: Mystery from Indian team in an attempt to make a comeback against England

As the Indian team will face England for the second Test of the five-match series, the team will need to make major decision on how to go with their bowling approach in combination for spinners.

By Krishnakant Kukreti Last Updated on - July 1, 2025 11:32 AM IST

India will need to shed their conservative selection approach and give themselves the best chance to take 20 wickets on what is expected to be another batting surface in the second Test against England, set to begin July 2nd.

By the team management's own admission, India missed a specialist bowler at Leeds, Kuldeep Yadav to be specific, as England comfortably chased down a record 371 on day five of a game that the visitors should have won.

In  the words of assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, India are grappling to find a team combination that doesn't compromise on batting depth and yet has the bowlers to take 20 wickets.

"In terms of managing the strategy there, we're looking at each bowler individually, feeling what we feel they can get wickets-wise. And then it's just trying to balance up and trying to calculate as best you can what the best chance of getting into the Test match," said Ryan.

"But you need 20 wickets. So the attacking party is obviously finding someone who can get wickets as well. And we are grappling with that. We don't stop talking about that. We're trying to figure it out," Doeschate added.

Indian squad for England tour:
Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC/wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.