India have rested pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for the second Test against England at Edgbaston, replacing him with uncapped seamer Akash Deep. Captain Shubman Gill said the move was taken to manage Bumrah’s workload after a hectic schedule and to keep him fresh for the third match at Lord’s. All-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar were also drafted in, with Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur making way. The selection call has been met with sharp criticism. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri said it was "very hard to believe" that the world’s leading fast bowler was omitted after a week’s rest, while former England quick Stuart Broad argued that seven days is ample recovery time. Sunil Gavaskar, Aaron Finch and other commentators also expressed surprise, questioning both Bumrah’s absence and the continued exclusion of wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. England, who lead the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 1–0 after their five-wicket win at Headingley, named an unchanged XI and captain Ben Stokes elected to field first. India enter the Birmingham Test seeking to halt a poor run of one win in nine matches and to square the series without their premier strike bowler.