England vs India Tests : 4 Talking Points

Derbyshire v India - Tour Match — Virat Kohli had a forgettable English test tour in 2014

The all important 5 match test series between England and India is all set to take center stage on 1 August. Both sides look fairly matched on paper with each team having its fair share of strengths and weaknesses. India recently announced the squad for the first three matches while England announced their squad much later for the first test.

India squad for first three matches: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali VIjay, Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur.

England squad for first test match: Joe Root (Captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, James Porter.

The series is expected to be contested toughly. India's batting line up will be tested against the experienced duo of Broad and Anderson. England's batting lineup will also be under pressure to deliver considering that it has still not yet found stability in the middle order and the opening combination. Here are the 4 major points that are interesting to note in the build up of the test series:

#4 Adil Rashid

England & Pakistan Nets Session — Adil Rashid's previous appearance in a test match was against India in India in 2016

Adil Rashid's inclusion has surprised many. Rashid was on the news for saying that it was his decision to focus primarily on white-ball cricket this English summer. Rashid has not played any first class match for Yorkshire this season. It is therefore baffling that he was chosen in the squad for the first test.

From the selectors point of view, it can be understood that they opted for him considering his excellent form in the ODIs and particularly the way he dismissed Kohli in the 3rd ODI. It also somewhat reveals the plan for the tests.It is expected that the pitches will be dry and offer assistance to spinners and hence supporting the theory of two spinners being included in the playing eleven.