"They should play James Anderson for sure" - Aakash Chopra on England's potential XI for 2nd Test vs India
Aakash Chopra wants England to include James Anderson in their playing XI for the second Test against India.
The second game of the five-match series will be played in Visakhapatnam from Friday, February 2. Mark Wood, Jack Leach, Tom Hartley, and Rehan Ahmed were the four specialist bowlers in England's playing XI in their 28-run win in the series opener in Hyderabad.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that England shouldn't go with an all-spin attack and instead play a seam bowler in Anderson. He reasoned (7:00):
"They (England) are saying they will play all four spinners, that they don't want to play Mark Wood or James Anderson. Now (Shoaib) Basheer is also available. They can play him as well. So they will have a lot of bowling options."
"I still feel they should play James Anderson for sure because you need a little control and none of their spinners has the ability to provide control on a good surface. In such a case, James Anderson can give you a five-over spell and then a four-over spell and concede only eight or nine runs," the former India opener added.
Chopra noted that the visitors might need a seamer in their attack, especially on the first day. He explained:
"There is another thing as well. You get to bowl first at times and if you go with only spin, at some stage you will feel that the ball has gotten old and you should be able to get some reverse swing. That won't happen if you don't play a single fast bowler."
Jack Leach has been ruled out of the Visakhapatnam Test due to a knee injury. England won't be able to field four specialist spinners in such a scenario and would have to play a seamer if they want to go with a four-pronged attack.
"He looked slightly pale in front of Jasprit Bumrah's quality" - Aakash Chopra on Mark Wood
![Mark Wood went wicketless in the first Test against India. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/02/b5815-17067630622169-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra noted that Mark Wood paled in comparison to Jasprit Bumrah in the first Test. He said:
"Wood also said that Bumrah didn't do a good thing. He bowled so well that people said Wood is a useless bowler. He is not that useless but he looked slightly pale in front of Jasprit Bumrah's quality."
Chopra observed that Wood expectedly found it difficult on an unhelpful surface for the seamers. On the flip side, he added that Bumrah showed that pitches are overrated and that he could be a potent weapon on any surface.