India won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test.
Under pressure due to injuries and an unexpected defeat against England in the opening Test in Hyderabad, Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and expectedly decided to bat first in Visakhapatnam on Friday (February 2).
England had announced their team combination a day before the Test match, with the injured Jack Leach being replaced by debutant Shoaib Bashir and pacer Mark Wood making way for veteran James Anderson.
The hosts made three changes to their Playing XI, two of those forced with KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja unavailable due to their injuries. Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar was handed out his maiden Test cap, while wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav replaced Jadeja.
India also rested seamer Mohammed Siraj and decided to get in Mukesh Kumar, a decision that surprised many as there was an expectation of someone like Washington Sundar coming into the side to bulk up the batting as well as spin attack.
Rohit told the broadcasters at the toss, “We have two unforced changes in Jadeja and KL (Rahul). Siraj… looking at how much cricket he has played in the past six months, we have rested him as well. We have got Mukesh (Kumar) and Kuldeep (Yadav) in, while Rajat Patidar makes his debut,”
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released an official statement on the same, confirming that Siraj had been released from the squad due to the volume of cricket played by him in recent times as well as the duration of the series, while adding that he will be available for selection in the next Test to be played in Rajkot.
The update also mentioned that pacer Avesh Khan has rejoined the Indian team in Visakhapatnam after being released from the squad in Hyderabad.