New Delhi: The Indian team has been practising with two-coloured balls ahead of the upcoming second Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The Indian pacers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, were spotted bowling with two-coloured balls to the Indian batters during their net session in Birmingham recently. The tactic has been deployed to help the bowlers ‘detoxify’ from the ‘filthy’ habits after coming off a long IPL season.
All pacers who are part of the current Indian Test squad were in action in the IPL 2025 season. While Jasprit Bumrah played for the Mumbai Indians, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna teamed up for the Gujarat Titans, and Akash Deep was part of the Lucknow Super Giants squad. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh played a key role in helping Punjab Kings reach the final of IPL 2025.
The Indian fast bowlers arrived in England on the back of a lengthy white-ball season after playing the Champions Trophy 2025 and the IPL 2025. Opening up on the unique drill involving two-coloured balls, India’s assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate revealed it has been in practice since the Indian team arrived in England, and is being done to help the Indian pacers get back to Test rhythm by shedding the habits acquired during a long white-ball season.
“It’s not a new thing. All the ball manufacturers make those balls. We talk about detoxing the bowlers, just getting the very basics right. And that’s the easiest way to give you an indication. Guys have come out of a long IPL season and the filthy habits of that cricket,” Doeschate told reporters in the pre-match press conference on Monday.
“We don’t want that creeping into Test cricket. So Morne (Morkel) and the bowlers just use that tool just to make sure the basic fundamentals are in place. We’ve been using it for the last two weeks,” he added.
Changes expected in India’s bowling line-up for 2nd Test
There might be some changes in India’s bowling line-up for the second Test against England after the visitors’ 5-wicket defeat in the series opener at Headingley in Leeds. The Indian pace duo of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna failed to make sustained impact with the ball during the Test match, and were heavily criticised for failing to provide enough support to senior fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.