The second Test of the five-match series between India and England will be played from February 2 onwards. The match at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam will start at 9:30 AM IST.
There is no panic in the injury-hit Indian camp, declared wicketkeeper K S Bharat on Thursday, asserting that the home side has made fresh plans to deal with England's attacking approach, including employing the sweep shot as and when required in the second Test.
Bharat, who will be playing in front of his home crowd, said the team has worked on its shortcomings in the series-opener in which England staged a sensational comeback to win the game by 28 runs.
Led by Ollie Pope, England batters threw the Indian spinners off their plans with a barrage of sweeps and reverse sweeps.
"They really played very well. Credit to them. Ollie Pope really played good shots," Bharat said in the pre-match press conference.
India would be without star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and top batter K L Rahul due to injuries.
While the whole squad turned up on Wednesday, only six players came for practice in the optional session Thursday morning. They were Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sourabh Kumar, Dhruv Jurel, Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan.
Uncapped Rajat and Sarfaraz, who are fighting for a place in the eleven, had a long healthy chat during the nets. Gill, who has not been able to replicate his white ball form in Test cricket, put in the hard yards and faced a lot of left-arm spin.
England, on the other hand, might sense a golden opportunity to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series that can severely mount pressure on the Indians. The way Stokes used and backed his resources in the opener was a captaincy masterclass.
The tourists also have a point of concern after experienced left-arm spinner Jack Leach has been ruled out of the match because of a knee injury and young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir will make his debut in Visakhapatnam.
Pacer Mark Wood had failed to make an impact in Hyderabad despite bowling 25 overs across two innings and for this match the visitors have replaced him with veteran pacer James Anderson, whose unerring accuracy can bring higher value if the track remains slow and low.
In that context, England will not put into practice their coach Brendon McCullum's thought of fielding an all-spin attack for this game.
England's Playing XI For The 2nd Test
Ben Stokes (c), Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.
India vs England 2nd Test Live Telecast Details
The IND vs ENG 2nd Test match will be broadcast live on the Sports18 and Colors Cineplex channels in India.
India vs England 2nd Test Live Streaming Details
JioCinema will livestream the India vs England 2nd Test match on its app and website.
India vs England Test Series Live Streaming In UK
The India vs England Test match will be shown live on TNT Sports and Discovery+ in the United Kingdom.
(With PTI inputs)