ENG vs IND 2025: Ravi Shastri urges India to ‘counter punch’ after Headingley drubbing

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has urged the team to stay positive as they look to level the ongoing five-match Test series against England in Birmingham. India suffered a defeat in the opening Test of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–27 cycle at Headingley, despite having dominated large portions of the match.

With the series now shifting to Edgbaston for the second Test, the visitors must regroup quickly for a must-win encounter that could prove decisive in the battle for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Shastri expressed little concern over team selection and emphasised on the importance of playing intent-driven cricket, a mindset he believes is crucial for India to bounce back in the series.

“The most important thing for India is to throw the counter punch almost immediately. When you lose a Test match like this where you have dominated most of it and then you lose it on the last day with a big chase and full marks to England for keeping their composure and doing that, it will need a lot of character to come to the fore and to bounce back in the series,” Shastri told The ICC Review.

Questions remain over the availability of India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for the second Test, as the team management looks to carefully manage his workload. With a long series ahead and the need to keep him fit for the entire World Test Championship cycle, his inclusion is still under consideration.

Meanwhile, the team is also weighing its options for a second spinner to support Ravindra Jadeja, as they look to strike the right balance in their bowling attack for the conditions at Edgbaston.

“Now, whether Bumrah plays or doesn’t play, one doesn’t know. But let’s hope he does because this is a very important Test match and all is not lost. It’s just you take it one game at a time. It’s a five-match series and India will be hoping to bounce back,” Shastri said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator believes that newly-appointed skipper Shubman Gill will have gained valuable lessons from India’s defeat in the series opener and expects the young captain to adopt a more proactive approach in the remaining matches.

“People say he was a little reactive and it can happen when you’re playing your first Test match (as captain) and especially in such good batting conditions with a fast outfield and things can happen in that way,” Shastri said.

“But he would have learnt a lot from that and will want to be a little more proactive when it comes now, which means the bowlers and the fielders will have to give him that support. They have got to know what their role is and get out there and execute it,” he concluded.