Can India take 20 wickets in the second Test against England starting in Birmingham starting on Tuesday? Ravichandran Ashwin, one of India’s all-time greatest Test bowlers, has urged India coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill to pick a side that is capable of picking 20 wickets. In the second innings of the first Test, India could take only five wickets with Jasprit Bumrah going wicketless. The pace spearhead is most likely to be rested for the second Test due to workload management. In such a scenario, Ashwin said the second Test will be a ‘test’ of different sorts for Gambhir and Gill.    

“I see this Test as a test or a testament to Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill’s commitment to taking 20 wickets. I want to see if they are committed to picking 20 wickets If they are seriously committed, Kuldeep Yadav would get a look in,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin said Kuldeep Yadav must be played in the second Test.

“Kuldeep Yadav has to play. If there is not much grass, Kuldeep has to play. Drop anyone you want, but Kuldeep has to play. If he does play, the England tail also won’t score many runs. Kuldeep would help you win 2-3 Tests in the series as he would create problems. If Kuldeep comes in for Shardul Thakur, I would retain Prasidh Krishna, as he showed in the second innings of the first Test that when he bowls well, he could do it,” said Ashwin.

“I would also think about the left-arm angle of Arshdeep Singh, but since he is still not a proven commodity in Test cricket, let’s not forget what Akash Deep can do. I am okay with either Akash Deep/Arshdeep in case Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t play.” 

Ashwin, who retired last year, added that Indian batters need to take more responsibility. 

“I know batsmen are making runs. Yes, we had five centurions, but where are the daddy hundreds?

We have to resign to the fact that there would be no contribution from the lower order. Our fast bowlers cannot bat and muster runs,” Ashwin added. 

While Bumrah is there, Ashwin said India was missing Mohammed Shami a lot. 

“As a batting unit, isn’t it more important to shut the game down, especially when you are batting first and third. Talking about bowlers, what I believe is that we missed Shami a lot,” he said. 

“Bumrah stood out, and Shami would have followed suit, but it was not to be I don’t want to defend Prasidh Krishna, but he is very early on in the Test series. He has played two months of IPL, and honestly, in the tournament, you almost never bowl length balls You only bowl shorter ones, yorkers, back of length, etc…”