Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 24, 2025
CHENNAI (Reuters) - Brydon Carse will replace Gus Atkinson for England's second T20 International against India on Saturday while Jamie Smith has also been added to the squad.
Atkinson bled 38 runs in his two wicketless overs in the series opener in Kolkata where India cruised to a seven-wicket victory with more than seven overs to spare.
Smith could make his T20 debut after Jacob Bethell missed Friday's training due to illness.
England's spin frailties were laid bare in Kolkata where they were all out for 132 as skipper Jos Buttler scored more than half the total with 68 runs.
Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel claimed five of the 10 English wickets, exposing the tourists' spin frailties in the process.
Harry Brook, who made 17 in the match on Wednesday, said the smog in Kolkata made it difficult to pick the turning ball.
"Chakravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler," the batter said on the eve of the second T20 International of the five-match series against world champions India.
"But with the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick. Hopefully the air is a bit clearer here and we can see the ball a bit easier."
The 25-year-old is considered one of the most attacking batters of his era but Brook felt he needed to improve his game against spin.
"Facing spin in T20 cricket is probably the hardest thing in the game, especially because I always get out trying to absolutely smack it," he said.
"Maybe I've got to rein in a little bit, but we'll see."
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
