IND vs ENG 2021: "Biggest match-winner sitting on bench!" - Fans furious as Kohli drops Ravichandran Ashwin once again
Ravichandran Ashwin once again misses out from India's playing XI as the visitors have opted for a four-pronged pace attack. Much was said about the inclusion of Ashwin once it was confirmed that Shardul Thakur would miss the Lord's Test.
However, Virat Kohli has made just one change to his playing XI as Ishant Sharma has come in place of Thakur to once again give India the same balance in bowling.
Twitter reacts to Ravichandran Ashwin's exclusion from India's XI
Fans on Twitter were disappointed with the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin as well as the lack of batting depth for India. Here is how they reacted to it:
Virat Kohli lost his seventh successive toss in England and the hosts have put the visitors in to bat first. There are three changes for England as Haseeb Hameed comes in for Zak Crawley, Moeen Ali replaces Dan Lawrence and Mark Wood comes in place of Stuart Broad.
Given the cloud cover and the grass on the pitch, England would be happy to have put India in to bat first. However, India won't be too worried about losing the toss as batting first and putting the runs on the board could turn out to be crucial.
Ravichandran Ashwin was one of the best bowlers for India Down Under in their last Test series and was also brilliant against England at home. However, Kohli has decided that the template of four seamers and one spinning all-rounder is what they would go ahead with.
India's tail will once again need to wag like they did in the game at Trent Bridge. With no one from Ishant, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj a proper batsmen, that is one risk India have taken.
The Lord's ground is special for Ishant as he recorded his brilliant figures of 7-74 in the second innings against England in 2014 that gave India a memorable win. He will be keen to make a similar impact after missing the first Test.