Indian and England players were wearing a black armband before the start of play on Day 1 of the second Test in Birmingham on Wednesday to pay tribute to former England batter Wayne Larkins, who passed away on June 28 at the age of 71.
England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the second Test of the five-match series, which is been played at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
Team India trails the series 0-1, having failed to defend the 371 runs set by them at Leeds despite scoring five centuries in the Test, including two by their swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant.
Ahead of the second Test against England, Indian skipper Shubman Gill said that the strategy to play two spinners would not be a "bad option" if the wicket is the same as the previous Test match at Leeds.
The second Test will kickstart from Wednesday onwards at Birmingham. India is trailing 0-1 in the series, failing to defend 371 runs at Leeds, despite scoring five centuries while batting.
The Birmingham Test will start on Wednesday. However, Jofra, who played his last Test back in February 2021, will have to wait a little longer to add to his tally of 13 Tests and 42 wickets as he was not included in the playing eleven.
After a disappointing show by India's lower order in the first Test at Headingley, the bowlers were put through an intense batting session during training, an effort to bolster the tail's resilience with the bat.
England's experienced pacer Chris Woakes has issued a captain Ben Stokes warning and cautioned about the threat that he poses with the Dukes ahead of the second Test against India in Birmingham.
Ahead of the second Test at Edgbaston on July 2, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate backed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal following his poor outing in the field during both innings of the first Test against England, which was played at Leeds.
The second Test will kickstart from Wednesday onwards, and left-arm pacer Arshdeep, who is India's leading T20I wicket-taker, would be eyeing a potential Test debut after poor performances from Indian pacers except for Jasprit Bumrah at Leeds.