England vs India: 3 things to look forward to in upcoming England's Test squad announcement
On Thursday (July 26) at Lord's, England will announce their squad for the first Test against India, which begins next week. National Selector Ed Smith and newly appointed James Taylor have a hard task in their hand.
Plenty of factors will be taken into consideration for the player selection – recent form, weather conditions, fitness issues, team balance, oppositions’ strengths and weakness.
With each team winning a series each, both sides will be hungry to seal the Test series. With only a few hours left for the announcement, let us look at three things, which we can expect in England’s Test squad.
#1 Cook’s partner
England’s quest for finding the ideal partner for Cook in the more extended format is similar to India’s long-lasting no.4 conundrum in the limited-overs format. Andrew Strauss’s retirement created a massive void in the opening department. More than ten different players had participated in this musical chair competition. None emerged as the winner.
Mark Stoneman was the last player to be axed from the Test squad. Keaton Jennings replaced Stoneman in the second Test against Pakistan. As of now, England can go with Jennings for the first match. If Jennings failed in the first game, then Rory Burns will replace him. Burns, who captained the Lions against India A last week, scored his third Championship century for Surrey in the current round of matches.