India were forced into an unexpected change ahead of the second ODI against England at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Wednesday. Regular wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul was absent from the playing XI, with Ishan Kishan returning to the side for the crucial encounter.

The visitors entered the match with plenty of confidence after registering a comprehensive six-wicket victory in the series opener at Edgbaston to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. However, Rahul’s absence immediately became one of the biggest talking points at the toss, with fans eager to know the reason behind the experienced batter missing such an important fixture.

Why is KL Rahul not playing today’s ENG vs IND 2nd ODI?

Speaking at the toss after England elected to bowl first, India captain Shubman Gill revealed that Rahul was unavailable due to illness. Rahul’s absence comes as a setback for India, considering his experience and ability to anchor the innings in the middle order. However, the team management will be hopeful that the wicketkeeper-batter recovers quickly ahead of the series finale.

“We would have bowled first as well. Doing well and very happy. We had a perfect game, hopefully we will do it again today. We started well and it was great to see fast bowlers do well. Very good memories here. We have one change, KL is sick and Ishan comes in for him,” Gill said.

Ishan Kishan returns to India’s playing XI

With Rahul ruled out due to illness, Kishan was drafted into the playing XI as India’s only change from the first ODI. The left-handed batter gets another opportunity to impress after spending time on the sidelines and is expected to strengthen India’s batting unit while also taking over the wicketkeeping duties.

India retained the rest of the combination that delivered a convincing win in Birmingham. In the first ODI, Gill led from the front with a fluent 80 before retiring hurt due to cramps, while Axar Patel produced a superb all-round performance with figures of 4/62 before remaining unbeaten on 57. Washington Sundar also played a match-winning knock of 52 not out as India comfortably chased down the target.

England, meanwhile, made two changes to their side, bringing in Gus Atkinson and Saqib Mahmood in place of Liam Dawson and Josh Tongue as they look to level the series.

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Playing XI

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

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

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