Bat, ball and the balance beam: How do India re-align after Leeds?

There was one constant across the five days of the Headingley Test. Before the start of play and at every session break, Lunch or Tea, Nitish Kumar Reddy would walk out to the ground with Morne Morkel by his side. India's bowling coach would lay down length markers on the practice pitches and then stand behind a set of stumps like a wicketkeeper.

The 22-year-old Reddy would bowl and bowl. Every now and then, Morkel would call him over for a quick word. Their longest such chat came on Day 2, when the former South African quick appeared to be suggesting some subtle tips on Reddy's alignments - of his bowling hand and head position - at the point of release.

Before the series, Morkel had challenged Reddy to embrace the ball more. "I want to see the ball more in his hands," he said. "We all know what he can do with the bat. But for a team, if you can have those bowling options, especially in these conditions, I think he'll be one to be excited and compliment his bowling at that.

"He is skillful," Morkel added. "He's a guy who can bowl that magical ball. For him, it's about creating that consistency, and that's something we want to work on. It's important for his game."

True to Morkel's words, Reddy also sent down lots of deliveries in India's first net session in Leeds - a near two-hour spell that ended with a fist bump from the coach.

India's defeat in the series opener may now reopen the Reddy debate, especially in the context of twin batting collapses and the limited role Shardul Thakur played with the ball. Used for just 16 overs across two innings, Thakur offered neither penetration nor control.

"The first thing is that he was not taken as a specialist bowler," Gautam Gambhir said of Thakur's role after the loss. "He was taken as a bowling all-rounder. Sometimes it happens that the captain goes with his instincts.

"And the way Jadeja bowled in the first innings, the way he controlled us from one end - that was very important, given the tempo at which England were batting. Because of that, we could rotate our three fast bowlers from the other end.

"So we know how good Shardul is. That's why he's playing for India. It's not like if you have a fourth seamer, you must bring him on first. Sometimes the captain goes with his instincts, and it depends on the surface as well."

While Reddy may offer a slightly stronger batting option at No. 8, especially if India have tempered expectations from their fourth seamer, his inclusion would still raise questions. Does his presence help India take 20 wickets? And if not, is it worth the trade-off?

"See, it all depends on the surface," Gambhir said. "Yes, it's important to take 20 wickets. That's the only way you can win Test matches. You can score 4,000 runs, but there are no guarantees you'll win a Test. But if you take 20 wickets, more often than not, you'll end up winning."

He added, "The topmost priority is to take 20 wickets, but it also depends on what surface we play on and what combination we want to go with."

With pitches in England flatter than they once were, and the post-2021 Dukes ball offering less lateral movement, India may see Reddy more as a specialist batter, especially after his Border-Gavaskar Trophy exploits. But unless he can develop ways to trouble batters beyond simply floating it up, he may struggle to make an impact against this aggressive England lineup on surfaces they enjoy.

The bolder option for India might be to play an attacking spinner in Kuldeep Yadav or an additional seamer in Akash Deep based on the nature of the pitch. They will need the extra bowling resource especially if Bumrah is rested. This will, however, put the onus on the frontline batters to deliver.

India to have a day off on Thursday after reaching Birmingham on Wednesday

Meanwhile, India will reach Birmingham - the venue for the second Test - on Wednesday (June 25). They will have a day off and a team activity on Thursday, before resuming training on Friday (June 27).

Before the second Test begins on July 2, they might even have an adjustment of the squad. Harshit Rana was added to the squad before the Leeds Test on precautionary grounds with the team experiencing some niggles. Gambhir said the need for a seventh frontline seamer in the squad will be reevaluated.

"I'll speak to the chairman of selectors (Ajit Agarkar) because there was a bit of a niggle in the group. That's why we wanted him as a back-up.

"But at the moment, everything looks fine. If everyone is fine, then he'll have to fly back but I'll still speak to the chairman," Gambhir said.