Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels India have fielded the wrong playing XI in the ongoing second Test against the hosts at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Vaughan took to Twitter to express surprise at senior spinner R Ashwin’s exclusion for the playing XI for the second straight time in the ongoing five-match series.
Ashwin, whose non-inclusion in the first Test in Nottingham came as a surprise to many, was one of the major contenders to replace injured Shardul Thakur, who was ruled out of the second Test due to an injury. However, India once again went with four pacers in the second Test as Ishant Sharma was roped in place of Shardul.
While India made only one change in the playing XI with Ishant replacing Shardul, England made three changes in their team as Mark Wood replaced injured Stuart Broad while Haseeb Hameed and Moeen Ali were also included in the playing XI. Vaughan said England have got their combination right but not India.
“Feels like England have picked the right team & India haven’t … Ashwin should have played for India to give them more Batting plus his quality bowling … He bowls well in all conditions … Perfect bowling day … Feels like a wickets day,” Vaughan wrote in a tweet.
With 71 wickets under his belt, Ashwin was the highest wicket-taker in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) that concluded with the final between India and New Zealand in June this year. Ashwin has been in fine form with the ball for Kohli & Co. in the last couple of series but has been overlooked in both Test matches so far in England.
The first Test between the two sides ended in a draw in Nottingham after the fifth day’s play was washed out completely due to rain. India will be hoping to open their win account at Lord’s against a Stuart Broad-less England and take 1-0 lead in the five-match series.