Young Indian pacer Harshit Rana has been released from the team before the second Test against England. He was present as a precautionary measure but was not seen boarding the team bus to Birmingham. The Indian squad departed Leeds around 11:30 AM local time. Gambhir had mentioned a minor issue within the group, which led to Rana’s inclusion as a backup. However, with the situation seemingly resolved, Rana was sent back. Despite scoring 835 runs and five individual centuries, India lost the first Test at Headingley. Ben Duckett’s impactful 149 set the pace for England’s successful chase, supported by strong performances from Crawley and Root. The match’s total of 1673 runs was the highest ever in a Test between England and India. Despite strong batting performances from Jaiswal, Gill, Rahul, and Pant, England achieved a victory with a chase of 371 runs on the final day.
