After losing a match many experts feel they ought to have won at Headingley, the India national cricket team will aim to make amends when it faces England for the second Test at Edgbaston, starting Wednesday (July 2, 2025). Watch the IND vs ENG match live on TV and online. The ICC World Test Championship encounter will have multiple storylines, the most prominent one of which will perhaps be whether or not Jasprit Bumrah features in the playing XI.
Bumrah is easily India's most valuable player currently, and his presence or absence could dictate how the Birmingham Test unfolds, especially considering the way the rest of the bowling attack fared in Leeds. There has been a lot of conjecture on Bumrah's availability for the second Test. He bowled for over half an hour in India's optional training session on Saturday (June 28), but the team management continued to be unequivocal about Bumrah's playing XI status for the second Test.
Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said it was tempting to play Bumrah, but added that the team could go 1-1 or keep the score at 1-0 without the pace bowling spearhead too. We're going to need him at some stage as well. You’ve got to decide when you're going to play your strongest suit,” he added.
Later, captain Shubman Gill confirmed Bumrah's availability, but stopped short of answering definitively about his playing status for the Edgbaston Test. “Bumrah is definitely available. We are just going to see how to manage his workload in the upcoming Test matches. We are trying to find the right combination where we can take 20 wickets and score runs as well on these kind of wickets.
“We just thought we are going to have a final look once we come to the ground and see what kind of combination that we want to go with tomorrow,” said Gill in the pre-match press conference.
As for the spin-bowling conundrum, ten Doeschate expressed certainty about two spinners playing in Birmingham. Which two, he didn't commit. "All three are bowling nicely. Washi (Washington Sundar) is batting really well too," he said. All eyes will be on whether wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav will make the cut.
Meanwhile, in the English camp, the big news has been tearaway pacer Jofra Archer's return to the Test fold and squad, though he will not play at Birmingham. England have named an unchanged playing XI for the second Test, and captain Ben Stokes offered his rationale for not picking Archer.
"I think it has been a long time since Joff (Archer) has been in the Test environment. You know, he has been playing a lot of white-ball cricket for England over the last couple of years. So, to have him back with us here after, you know, such a long time is, you know, I think first and foremost great for him, great for the team and, yeah, I think it is very important for Joff to be around the group this week," Stokes said.
"It is been a long time for him, and the last time he was in the Test dressing room, obviously that was under a different regime. So, you know, I felt it was important, even if he did not get selected this week, that he spends time around the group because, you know, I think hopefully that we will see him play a part in this series going forward.
"So, you know, that time spent with Joff, with the other individuals in this group is very important for the rest of the series, not just the performances out on the field as well," the England captain added.
India Vs England, 2nd Test: Telecast, Live Streaming Details
When and where will the second Test between India and England be played?
The second Test between India and England will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from Tuesday, July 2, 2025 to Saturday, July 6, 2025. The first ball will be bowled at 3:30pm IST, with the toss at 3pm IST.
Where will the second Test between India and England be telecast and live streamed?
The second Test between India and England will be telecast on the Sony Sports Network in India. The English broadcast will be on the Sony Sports Ten 1 & Sony Sports Ten 5 TV channels, and Hindi commentary on Sony Sports Ten 3. For Tamil and Telugu, one can tune in to Sony Sports Ten 4. Live streaming of the IND vs ENG Test will be available on the JioHotstar app and website in the country.
India Vs England, 2nd Test: ENG Playing XI For Edbaston
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
India Vs England, 2nd Test: Squads
England: Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Jofra Archer, Sam James Cook, Jamie Overton
India: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana
