England vs India: 4 Players who will be playing Test matches in England for the first time
India has finally announced the squad for the Test matches against England. Interestingly, India has announced an 18 member squad for the first 3 matches. This is against the usual trend of selecting 15-16 players for an overseas assignment.
18 is a huge number considering that the squad has been picked only for the first three encounters. The squad is more or less on the expected lines with a few surprises. Rohit Sharma has been dropped once again. He was a neglected for the lone test match against Afghanistan as well. Kuldeep Yadav who wasn’t a part of the South Africa Test series, has been been rewarded with a call up for his limited overs exploits.
Wriddhiman Saha is set to miss the series as he is nursing a finger injury picked up during IPL. Bhuvneshwar Kumar too isn’t available for the first three Test Matches. Jasprit Bumrah will be available for selection from the second Test match onwards. Overall, India will miss the services of their two frontline fast bowlers in the first Test.
Most of the players have toured England in 2014 but there are a few players who will be playing test matches in England for the first time. The onus will be on these players to step up and get used to the conditions pretty quickly. Let us have a look at 4 such players who will be plying their trade on English shores for the first time:
4. Hardik Pandya
When India toured England in 2014, Stuart Binny was India’s seam-bowling all-rounder. But this time India has gone in with Hardik Pandya. He was a part of the playing XI in each of the three Test matches in South Africa.
He was brilliant in the first Test match, but later on looked a bit out of sorts. He went wicket-less in the last two matches and didn’t score much with the bat as well. He is an important part of the team management's plan as he has been picked as the lone fast bowling all-rounder in the team.
With Bhuvi not available for the first three fixtures, he will have to shoulder the responsibility of bowling extra overs. He will be playing in England for the first time and it will be a great experience for Hardik as he is a quick learner. India will be hoping that he does well in the series and provide a cushion for Virat Kohli to play an extra seamer or a batsman.