 "IND vs ENG 2nd T20: Carse replaces Atkinson in England XI; Bethell likely to be swapped for Smith")
England cricket team has decided to drop pacer Gus Atkinson for the second T20I against India at Chennai as Brydon Carse has been named as his replacement. Also, Jamie Smith has been added to the squad and can replace Jacob Bethell, who missed Friday’s training due to illness.
Atkinson bled 38 runs in his two wicketless overs in the series opener in Kolkata where India cruised to a seven-wicket victory with more than seven overs to spare.
England in a spin against Indian spinners
England’s spin frailties were laid bare in Kolkata where they were all out for 132 as skipper Jos Buttler scored more than half the total with 68 runs.
Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel claimed five of the 10 English wickets, exposing the tourists’ spin frailties in the process.
Harry Brook, who made 17 in the match on Wednesday, said the smog in Kolkata made it difficult to pick the turning ball.
“Chakravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler,” the batter said on the eve of the second T20 International of the five-match series against world champions India.
“But with the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick. Hopefully the air is a bit clearer here and we can see the ball a bit easier.”
The 25-year-old is considered one of the most attacking batters of his era but Brook felt he needed to improve his game against spin.
“Facing spin in T20 cricket is probably the hardest thing in the game, especially because I always get out trying to absolutely smack it,” he said.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“Maybe I’ve got to rein in a little bit, but we’ll see.”
England playing XI for the second T20I against India in Chennai
Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell/Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
With agency inputs
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