Ben Stokes spotlights India’s gamechanger for 2nd Test

After decimating Shubman Gill-led Team India in the series opener, Stokes' England side will meet the visitors for the 2nd Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in the lead-up to the Birmingham Test, Stokes was happy to dismiss the Bumrah factor as Team India is set to take a 'last-minute' call for the upcoming encounter.

India have made it clear that Bumrah is likely to feature in only three of the five Tests against England. Head coach Gautam Gambhir stressed that managing Bumrah’s workload is a top priority, with a packed cricket calendar looming ahead. “That’s India’s problem. They will deal with it. I am captain of England,” Stokes told reporters in the pre-match press conference.

Though England crushed India in Leeds to take a 1-0 lead in the series, the hosts are not taking anything for granted.

“Good team. They always fight hard, come hard. Very passionate team. It’s pretty clear that there’s always pressure on shoulders of international sportsmen, but playing for India, especially in cricket, there’s probably a bit more on any other nation. So, yeah, a very proud nation. Don’t take anything for granted from last week. We start at 0-0 again,” Stokes added.

Stokes marvels at Pant’s brilliance

Stokes also reserved praise for India’s flamboyant batter Rishabh Pant ahead of the crucial 2nd Test. Relishing his battle in the Test series against India, the England skipper admitted that he ‘absolutely loves’ watching Pant bat across formats. Pant became the second wicketkeeper in Test history to score centuries in both innings of a match against England at Headingley.

"Even though he's my opposition, I absolutely love watching Rishabh play cricket. Credit to him, two hundreds in the game, (but) we know we're going to get our chances with the way Rishabh plays. On a different day, it could have looked a little bit different if one of those had gone straight to hand. He's a very dangerous player. We know what he brings to the Indian team, but I really enjoy watching Rishabh play cricket," Stokes concluded.