India, July 14 -- The Indian team management remains rigid in its plans for the playing XI. The fascination with having a long batting lineup continued even in the first ODI against England, which led to Kuldeep Yadav warming the bench for the series opener at Edgbaston. Washington Sundar and Axar Patel were chosen as the spinners for the first ODI; however, their inclusion was mainly due to the duo being multi-faceted cricketers who can lend support with both bat and ball.

Under head coach Gautam Gambhir, India have always opted for a long batting lineup and a quality bowling attack. The Men in Blue played four frontline bowlers - Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar, and the task of being the fifth bowler fell o...