Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has encouraged the team to stay positive as they prepare for the second Test against England in Birmingham. India lost the first match of the five-Test series at Headingley, even though they were in control for much of the game. This series is part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–27.
Ravi Shastri Urges India to Stay Positive After Tough Loss
With the action now moving to Edgbaston, India needs to regroup quickly for a must-win game that could be key in the fight for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Shastri said he’s not too worried about team selection and stressed that playing with clear intent is the key for India to make a strong comeback.
“The most important thing for India is to throw the counter punch almost immediately. When you lose a Test match like this where you have dominated most of it and then you lose it on the last day with a big chase and full marks to England for keeping their composure and doing that, it will need a lot of character to come to the fore and to bounce back in the series,” Shastri told The ICC Review.
There are still doubts about whether India’s top fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, will play in the second Test. The team management is being careful with his workload to keep him fit for the rest of the long series and the entire World Test Championship.
At the same time, the team is also thinking about picking a second spinner to support Ravindra Jadeja, as they try to find the best bowling combination for the pitch conditions at Edgbaston.
“Now, whether Bumrah plays or doesn’t play, one doesn’t know. But let’s hope he does because this is a very important Test match and all is not lost. It’s just you take it one game at a time. It’s a five-match series and India will be hoping to bounce back,” Shastri said.
Support Crucial for Gill’s Proactive Leadership
The former cricketer and now commentator believes that new captain Shubman Gill will have learned important lessons from India’s loss in the first Test. He expects the young skipper to take a more active and forward-thinking approach in the rest of the series.
“People say he was a little reactive and it can happen when you’re playing your first Test match (as captain) and especially in such good batting conditions with a fast outfield and things can happen in that way,” Shastri said.
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“But he would have learnt a lot from that and will want to be a little more proactive when it comes now, which means the bowlers and the fielders will have to give him that support. They have got to know what their role is and get out there and execute it,” he concluded.
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