IND vs ENG 2nd Test: Brendon McCullum Warns India, Says England Won`t Be Afraid To Play All Spinners If...

Brendon McCullum, known for introducing Bazball cricket to England cricket as head coach, says that his team will not be afraid to play an all-spin attack of the pitches and conditions demand such thing

India will take England in the 2nd Test at Visakhapatnam from February 2 with an aim to bounce back in the series. They lost the first Test to their utmost shock and are also suddenly hit by injuries to some key players. Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul are unfit as new faces join the camp that still does not have Virat Kohli. Needless to say, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid find themselves in almost the same situation Ravi Shastri and Ajinkya Rahane did after the Adelaide Test in January 2021 when after 36 all-out, Kohli had to go back for the birth of his first child. India had then bounced back strongly to shock the Aussies at MCG. That Test win ignited a new hope as India went on to win the series.

England would do everything to stop anything of this sort happening in Vizag. Their head coach Brendon McCullum has already started playing mind games, indirectly sending a warning to India in their own den. 

Speaking to SENZ Radio, McCullum said that England are quite open to idea of playing an all-spin bowling attack if needed. Spinner Bashir has joined the England camo after his visa issues are sorted and with him in, England now have five spinners, including Joe Toot who bowled exceptionally well in Hyderabad Test.

'(Bashir) comes into calculations for the next Test match. If the wickets continue to spin as much as what we saw in the first Test as the series goes on, look, we won't be afraid to play all spinners, or a balance of what we've got," said Brendon McCullum.

England captain Ben Stokes showed immense faith in his spinners to do the job as despite getting hit for many runs in the first innings, Tom Hartley came back in second innings to pick up seven wickets and dismantle the Indian batting lineup. That is the sort of approach that England have come to India with and want to play like India in their own backyard.

Hit by injuries, India will need to bring their A game into the second Test to win the 2nd Test and draw levels. This is a long series and both teams will have to be relentless in their approach to win it.