Watch: Shubman Gill heads straight for pitch inspection after press conference, Gautam Gambhir, Agarkar join him

Watch: Shubman Gill heads straight for pitch inspection after press conference, Gautam Gambhir, Agarkar join him

India captain Shubman Gill wasted no time in rushing to the centre of Edgbaston, where they would take on England in less than 24 hours' time. As soon as the pre-match press conference was over, Gill entered the ground and briskly made his way straight towards the pitch. He was soon joined by head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and former India opener Shiv Sunder Das, who is also a member of the current selection committee.

India's Shubman Gill with head coach Gautam Gambhir during a discussion with the selectors at Edgbaston(Action Images via Reuters)

Gill, Gambhir, Agarkar, and Das spent a long time inspecting the pitch. They were also spotted having a lengthy discussion standing beside the 22 yards that are likely to play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the important second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

England have already announced an unchanged XI. The side that beat India in Leeds would look for a repeat of the same in Birmingham. For them, the nature of the pitch will not dictate their side's composition, but that's exactly the opposite for India.

Two factors would completely change the composition of India's XI: Jasprit Bumrah's unavailability due to workload management and the nature of Edgbaston.

In the Bazball era , Edgbaston has dished out some of the flattest decks. England pulled off their highest ever run chase in Test cricket, 381, the last time they took on India at this venue. And there are no indications whatsoever about a change in that narrative.

When India landed here a few days ago, there was an even covering of grass, but that quickly vanished as we approached the Test match.

The dry English summers do not make it easier for the curators to prepare a pitch that offers a lot to the fast bowlers.

If this stays the same, then India might look at an extra spinner. In addition to Jadeja, India have spin bowling options in all-rounder Washington Sundar and an attacking, wicket-taking Kuldeep Yadav.

Speaking on whether the team could play a second spinner at Birmingham, Gill said during the pre-match presser, "It is not common to see two spinners in England. But the weather was not typical."

"It rained a lot and the sun was shining. In the last match also, if we had an extra spinner in the 4th inning, the game could have been better. There were some patches in the wicket which we could have exploited," he added.

During the match, Gill said whenever Jadeja was bowling, the team felt that they were containing chances. It was much easier for spinners to contain runs than pacers, especially when the ball got old and stopped swinging.

"The wickets were also good for batting. So, if the fast bowlers are not creating enough chances for the fast bowlers, then we feel that maybe a second spinner on these kinds of wickets will at least contain a run till the second new ball comes. So, looking at the last match, I felt that if the wicket is going to be similar to how it was in the last match, then a second spinner would be a bad option," he concluded.