Ishan Kishan Replaces Ill KL Rahul as England Opt to Bowl in Second ODI

Cardiff, July 2026 : England captain Harry Brook won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the second One-Day International at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday, with the hosts looking to level the three-match series after losing the opening match.

India, who lead the series 1-0 following their convincing six-wicket victory at Edgbaston, were forced into one change as wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan replaced an unwell KL Rahul in the playing XI.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed before the start of the match that Rahul was unavailable for selection due to illness.

England, meanwhile, made two changes to their lineup in a bid to strengthen their pace attack. Fast bowlers Gus Atkinson and Saqib Mahmood were brought into the side, replacing Josh Tongue and spinner Liam Dawson.

Explaining his decision to bowl first, England skipper Harry Brook said the conditions at Sophia Gardens appeared favourable for the seamers.

“It’s a nice, even spread of grass. Hopefully, we can get a bit of seam movement and swing up front. We need to execute slightly better. I’ve always said we are never out of games, and I thought we put up a really good fight in the last game to take it that deep. It was an awesome effort from the guys, and we need some more of that,” Brook said at the toss.

India captain Shubman Gill revealed that his side would also have preferred to bowl first but expressed confidence after their dominant performance in the opening ODI.

“We’d have bowled first as well. We’re doing well. We had a near-perfect game last time out; hopefully, we’re going to have another good one. We started well, and it was great to see fast bowlers do well. Very good memories here,” Gill said.

India will be aiming to clinch the series with another victory, while England must win to force a decider in the final ODI.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna.

England: Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook (captain), Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood.