Slow left-arm orthodox spinner Akshar Patel made his Test debut for Team India in the second match against England. He replaced Washington Sundar in the side to feature in the playing XI.
Akshar got the Test cap from India captain Virat Kohli. Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag welcomed Akshar to the Test cricket with a pun.
Sehwag posted Akshar's picture on Twitter and wrote, "Dafa 302 Test Cap for an Indian. Test cap no 302, Bas gilli udana @akshar2026".
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The Section 302 in The Indian Penal Code is a punishment for murder. Sehwag hinted that Akshar is going to run through the England batting line-up with his tweet.
Akshar was supposed to play the first Test as well, but a knee injury before the match ruled him out. Apart from him, Kuldeep Yadav got back to the side. Kuldeep last played a Test against Australia in Sydney in January 2019. He was in the squad for a long time, but couldn't get into the playing XI.
India won the toss in the second Test and they are batting first. Till the lunch break, the hosts scored 106/3 with Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Kohli back to the pavilion. Rohit was batting with 80* off 78 deliveries.