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England Cricket has announced the Three Lions' playing XI for the second Test match against India in Vizag starting on February 2. Ben Stokes' men registered a stellar win in the first Test on the back of Ollie Pope's brilliant 196 and Tom Hartley's magical 7-62 in the second innings.
Also Read: Ben Stokes confirms Jack Leach ruled out of 2nd Test Against India
England Test captain Ben Stokes confirmed that left-arm spinner Jack Leach has been ruled out of the second Test. Leach injured his knee while fielding on Day 1 and hence managed to pick up only two wickets across both innings. Stokes revealed that Leach's knock resulted in a haematoma in his leg.
England playing XI for 2nd Test against India
Talking about the second Test, England have made two changes. Uncapped off-spinner Shoaib Bashir replaced Jack Leach while James Anderson was drafted in to replace Mark Wood. Here's England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.
Stokes backs Shoaib Bashir ahead of possible Test debut
The England captain was also asked about uncapped spinner Shoaib Bashir, who could play his first international game for England in Vizag. Stokes said, "If he was to play on this tour, then the great thing he has on his side is, what is there to lose? That is how I will be thinking about it if he gets the chance to play: just to make sure I can give him the best experience I possibly can. Because you only play your first Test match once. If he does play, then I will be trying to make it as enjoyable and fun for him as I can."