File photo of Brendon McCullum© AFP
Down 0-1 in the 5-match Test series against England, the Indian cricket team has its task cut out as it heads into the second match in Vizag. While Virat Kohli was already set to miss the second match due to a personal issue, injuries to KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have trimmed the Indian team even further. England coach Brendon McCullum, analysing the hosts’ situation ahead of the Vizag encounter, said that he is disappointed as the trio of Jadeja, Rahul and Kohli will not be playing the second Test.
“Obviously, Jadeja and KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, he is obviously not playing the next game as well. You want to play against the best. But it’s disappointing for the Indian side. But they have also got an incredible talent pool to pick from. So it becomes a bit more difficult, we will do our homework on them,” McCullum was quoted as saying by India Today.
England produced a heroic performance in the series opener despite trailing by 190 runs in the first innings. But, McCullum is aware that his luck won’t favour him every single time.
“We will enjoy where we sit at the moment and lap up the great experience we have had over the last few days and tomorrow we will travel to Vizag and once we get there, we will start to turn our attention to that game. And have a look at the conditions and make a call. You are not going to get every call right, especially in these conditions, it’s hard to read some of these pitches, right?” McCullum said.
“But we will make a decision and we will try and commit to that and see where we land,” concluded the England coach.
The second match of the series will be played from Jan 02 in Vizag.
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