India's predicted playing XI for the 1st Test vs England
Mere weeks after their historic series win in Australia, the Indian cricket team faces off against Joe Root's England in a 4-Test series at home.
Captain Virat Kohli returns to the side, as does all-rounder Hardik Pandya, while a number of familiar faces like Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Hanuma Vihari and Umesh Yadav miss out due to injury.
The first two Tests will be played at Chennai, and the BCCI announced a strong squad for the same.
India's squad for the first two Tests against England: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur
Here is India's predicted playing XI for the 1st Test against England.
Openers: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill
There's no doubt as to who'll open in the innings for India in the 1st Test against England. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, who appeared to be a very solid combination in the few innings they played together in Australia, will walk out to face the new ball.
Both players are accomplished players of both spin and pace, and Gill in particular is on the verge of making the opening slot his own just 3 games into his Test career. Rohit, on the other hand, has an outrageous home record, and will want to pile on the daddy hundreds like he usually does.
Mayank Agarwal will serve as the reserve opener, but he doesn't offer any threat to the above two at the moment. KL Rahul, who bizarrely doesn't seem to be in India's red-ball plans, is another option.