‘This is baffling’ – Tom Moody slams India over squad selection for Edgbaston Test

Former Australian cricketer, Tom Moody, was critical of the Indian team’s selection for the second Test of the ongoing five-match series against England. He termed the selection for the current game as “baffling” and highlighted India’s “fixation on all-rounders”.

He opined that maximising the batting and bowling skills of all-rounders has never yielded results and there must be no compromise with specialist batters and bowlers. This comes after India made three changes to their XI from the first Test, bringing in Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar for Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur, respectively. 

“India’s selection for this test is baffling. No, Bumrah is one thing, but to only have 5 specialist batsmen is a gamble. The fixation on all-rounders who are there to offer depth with bat and ball has never worked. Specialists are always going to offer more over a test,” Moody posted on X.

Plenty agreed with the commentator’s remarks and felt India should have picked Kuldeep Yadav over Sundar. Some also suggested that the team management shoulf not have not tinkered with Sudharsan’s spot after just one game. Notably, the left-hander did not have the best of outings in the opening game of the series at Headingley. 

Majority of the cricket community felt that Kuldeep deserved a chance to bolster the spin-bowling department alongside Ravindra Jadeja. However, India went ahead Nitish and Sundar alongside Jadeja. Meanwhile, questions have also been raised over the decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah after just one game, as India brought in Akash Deep in the premier pacer’s spot. 

India are trailing the series after losing the first Test by a five-wicket margin. The hosts were successful in chasing a steep target of 371 in the fourth innings to take the lead going into the current game.