England coach and former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has said he is disappointed that big names like KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli are not part of India’s squad for the second Test. KL Rahul and Ravindran Jadeja are ruled out due to their respective injuries. This is a big blow for India as the team has lost two of its most important players and Virat Kohli is already out of the second Test.
Team India announced their updated squad on Monday and added Washington Sundar, Sarfaraz Khan and Saurabh Kumar as reinforcements. Ravindra Jadeja suffered a hamstring injury on the fourth day of the first Test in Hyderabad, while KL Rahul complained of pain in his right quadriceps.
Brendon McCullum was asked how he felt playing against a weakened Indian team, to which he replied that it was disappointing. He said that he wanted to play against the best and unfortunately the Indian team has lost such big names. McCullum has asked his team not to become complacent as India has an incredible pool of talent to choose from.
“Obviously, Jadeja, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will not play the next match either. You want to play against the best. But it is disappointing for the Indian side. But they also have an incredible pool of talent to choose from,” Brendon McCullum said.
Brendon McCullum says he will pay attention to the second test after arriving in Vizag
Sarfaraz Khan and Saurabh Kumar received their first call-ups to India after participating in domestic cricket for years. One of them will also be able to enter the playing XI on February 2. McCullum said that he had not yet thought about the Vizag Test and that he was enjoying the experience of it in Hyderabad. He added that he wasn’t going to take any calls about the game before seeing the track.
“We will enjoy where we are at the moment and enjoy the great experience we have had in the last few days and tomorrow we will travel to Vizag and once we get there we will start to focus our attention on that game,” Brendon. McCullum said.
Brendon McCullum was given the job of coaching the England Test team in 2022 and has since introduced Bazball into England’s Test mentality, which is an aggressive approach to playing attacking cricket in Test matches. England have not lost a Test series since Bazball was introduced into the England Test squad. Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum form a lethal duo of coach and captain and have led England cricket to great success in the red ball format.
England won the first Test by 28 runs in Hyderabad and will now play the second Test at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam. India are yet to lose a test series at home since their defeat against England in 2012, where they were beaten 2-1 by the Alastair Cook-led team. India will hope to win the second Test and then win the series in the remaining three Tests to maintain their unbeaten streak.