England will tour India between February 5 to March 28 for four Tests, five T20Is, and three ODIs. Chennai will host the first two Tests. The final two Tests will be played at the newly built stadium in Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad will host the T20I series followed by Pune for the ODI series.
The first Test will be played from February 5-9, while the second Test from 13-17. India will high on confidence after their historic win Down Under beating Australia 2-1 in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The youngsters stood up in the absence of senior cricketers to do the unimaginable. The likes of Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Shubman Gill, T Natarajan did a commendable job against a formidable side.
However, it will be interesting to see how the management reacts when the senior cricketers return from injury to take their spot back in the playing XI. In this article, we will try to figure out India’s predicted XI for the first two Tests.
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Here is India’s Predicted XI For the First Two Tests vs England:
Rohit Sharma
The Indian white-ball opener made the most of the opportunity he got in the last two Tests vs Australia. he scored 129 runs from two matches including a fifty. He added 70 plus runs for the first wicket in both the innings of The Gabba Test.
With India needing an experienced opener at the top, Rohit Sharma fits the bill. He will open the batting alongside Shubman Gill.
Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill displayed his potential at the international level and grabbed the eyeballs of former cricketers. The authority with which he believed in the final Test match made the world take notice of his abilities. He is seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket under Virat Kohli.
This particular Test series against England is an opportunity for him to cement his place in the Indian team for a length of time.
Cheteshwar Pujara
Pujara did not have the best of Test series against Australia and would love to make up for it against Egland. He is the rock of this current Indian batting line-up. Despite not scoring too many runs, Pujara stood up for his team when he was most required against Australia.
Cheteshwar Pujara would be required to do the same against England too with the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad steaming in with the new ball.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli returns to lead the side and to bat at the critical number four. India missed him dearly at times in the final three Test matches. However, Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were able to compensate for his absence against Australia.
He returns against England and would love to score important runs for his team. His battle against the likes of Anderson and Broad will be a treat to watch.
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Ajinkya Rahane
The Indian vice-captain returns to his number five spot after Kohli returns to lead the side. Despite that, his job remains the same to bat the rough overs for Team India and steady the ship in case of loss of early wickets.
Ajinkya Rahane would like to score a century or two in the upcoming eight important innings of his life. The entire country is yet to sink in his achievement as the skipper of the team in Australia recently.
Hardik Pandya/ KL Rahul
Virat Kohli said that Hardik Pandya will need to bowl if he wants to play Test cricket for India. Now that he is not bowling and with the first two Tests to be played in Chennai, the team management would think hard on his inclusion.
KL Rahul is another option at number six. He missed out on the opportunity of playing the Test series against Australia with an injury. He will be given the first preference if India looks to go with seven proper batsmen in the XI.
Rishabh Pant
Pant ended as the highest scorer for Team India in the recently concluded Test series win over Australia. He will be the first choice wicket-keeper ahead of Wriddhiman Saha given his recent exploits with the bat.
Along with his batting skills which are tremendous, Pant would like to add to his repertoire as a keeper.
Ravichandran Ashwin
In the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin is expected to play in all four Test matches. Being the senior spinner he will have a huge role to play in the Chennai wicket which historically have been favoring the spinners.
Ashwin will have enough opportunities to go for wickets and will be a tough proposition for the opposition batsmen. He is on 377 wickets currently is has a good opportunity to inch closer to the 400-mark.
Kuldeep Yadav
Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun said that the England series will be Kuldeep’s opportunity to play Test matches for India again. He played the last Test for his country in 2019 against Australia where he picked up a fifer in Sydney.
He has been regularly bowling at Team India net sessions and is expected to make a comeback to the playing XI. However, Kuldeep is likely to face stiff competition from Washington Sundar, who impressed with both bat and ball in his debut Test at the Gabba.
Also Read: England Series Will Be Kuldeep Yadav’s Time To Bowl: Bowling Coach Bharat Arun
Ishant Sharma
The most experienced Indian pacer Ishant Sharma is all set to make a comeback after missing out on the Australia series due to a side strain. He has fully recovered and is a part of the squad for the first two Tests.
The tall and lanky fast bowler made a comeback during the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and will be raring to go against England to reclaim his spot in the side.
Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah missed out on the final Test match against Australia due to an abdominal injury. He too has fully recovered at the NCA and will make a comeback to the playing XI. The return of Ishant and Bumrah will mean that the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur will have to the ones who will miss out on the opportunity of playing the Test matches for India.
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