England’s Harry Brook gave a bizarre explanation ahead of 2nd T20I against India in Chennai. He said that due to smog in Kolkata, it was difficult to play the spin of Varun Chakravarthy. “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. 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.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri took a brutal dig at Brook regarding the comment ahead of the 2nd T20I. “Good news for Harry Brook. There is no smog here,” he said.
Then when Varun Chakravarthy scalped Brook in the seventh over, Sunil Gavaskar quipped: “Light is clearer here. There is no smog.”
India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bowl against England in the second T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday. India continued their good form in T20Is with an emphatic seven-wicket win over the visitors in the series opener at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After seven years, the T20I action has returned to Chepauk, with India playing its last game in the format in 2018 against the West Indies.
The Men in Blue will be keen to continue the dazzling form in the second T20I and take a 2-0 advantage before the action shifts to Gujarat.
England are missing the presence of young Jacob Bethell, who is not playing due to illness. Jamie Smith has come in to replace Bethell, which marks his T20I debut for England. Brydon Carse is another debutant for the Three Lions, replacing Gus Atkinson.
India will be missing the presence of young all-rounder Nitish Reddy, who has been ruled out of T20I due to side strain.
India are also missing explosive batter, Rinku Singh. The BCCI confirmed that Rinku sustained a low back spasm while fielding in the first T20I. Rinku has been progressing well and the BCCI medical team is monitoring him closely.
Suryakumar confirmed that the player could miss one or two games. With the two stars missing, Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar have come in as replacements. Just like in Kolkata, seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami continues to sit out from India’s playing XI.
Suryakumar Yadav said, “We’ll look to bowl first. Looks a good track, hoping the wicket to be better in the evening. We want to stick to the basics. Really looking forward to the game. (Fielding) That’s one thing which brings everyone together. Nitish is ruled out, and Rinku will miss one or two games. Washi and Jurel come in.”
England captain Jos Buttler said: “We would have bowled first as well. Same game plans, look to do better. Hopefully, it’ll be a good pitch and match. Bethell is unwell, and Jamie Smith comes in. Atkinson misses out, Carse comes in.”
Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
With ANI inputs
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