- By Namrata Vijay
- Wed, 25 Jun 2025 07:46 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs ENG: India's star fast bowler Harshit Rana has been released by the Indian team management after suffering a five-wicket loss to England in Leeds on Wednesday, as per a Times of India report. India will lock horns with England for the second Test next week in Edgbaston and speculations were rife that Harshit Rana might be included in the playing XI, considering the disappointing performance put up by the bowler in Leeds, but that isn't the case anymore now.
Harshit, who was the latest addition to team India's squad for the first Test, didn't travel in the team to Birmingham along with his other teammates.
The Shubman Gill-ked side left Headingley at around 4 p.m. IST and would be reaching Birmingham by 7 p.m. IST.
The visitors would be resting for the next few days and then start their practice sessions again for the second Test match, which would be held in Edgbaston, where they will try to level the ongoing series and aim to bounce back after losing the series opener in Leeds.
“I haven’t spoken to the chairman selector; I will speak to the chairman of selectors because there was a bit of a niggle in the group. That is why we wanted him as a backup," Gambir told reporters during the post-match press conference.
“But at the moment, everything looks fine, so if everyone is fine, he would have to fly back," he concluded.
The Men in Blue lost the first Test match in Leeds even though they scored 835 runs on the back of five batters scoring individual centuries and thus grabbed the limelight for the wrong reasons. This was the first time in the history of the longest format that a team lost a Test match even though they had smashed five hundred during that match.
Batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant all smashed centuries, where Pant scored two hundreds but the hosts chased down the mammoth target of 371 runs quite comprehensively and won the match by five wickets on the last day.
England's star opener Ben Duckett scored a match-winning knock of 149 runs and laid the foundation of their record chase, on the back of significant contributions made by Zak Crawley and Joe Root.
Even though the visitors the visitors might have lost the game despite dominating the match for the most part, there isn't any need to hit the panic button yet but a few changes would surely be made in the playing XI for the second Test match.
Experts did suggest that Kuldeep Yadav should have been included in the playing XI of the first Test match and now there are high chances that he might replace Shardul Thakur since the surface in Birmingham might assist the spinners.