India opt to bat against England in 2nd Test in Vizag, Rajat Patidar and Shoaib Bashir handed debuts

Rajat Patidar makes his Test debut and will take the place of KL Rahul in the playing XI.

India's captain Rohit Sharma and England's captain Ben Stokes (R) shake hands during the toss prior to the start on the first day of the second Test cricket match between India and England at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy cricket stadium in Visakhapatnam on February 2, 2024. (Photo | AFP)

VISAKHAPATNAM: India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat against England in the second Test here on Friday.

Rajat Patidar makes his Test debut with the hosts also bringing in spinner Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Mukesh Kumar for KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj.

England have also handed a maiden Test cap to Shoaib Bashir, who replaces injured Jack Leach while veteran pacer James Anderson comes in place of Mark Wood.

India trail the five-match series 0-1.

Teams: India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.