Picking India's best 11 for the last 3 Tests vs England
Team India have announced their squad for the remaining three Tests of the five-match series against England, which will take place at Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamsala, respectively.
Virat Kohli has pulled out of the entire assignment citing personal reasons, but the hosts have received a boost elsewhere. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been named in the contingent, even though their involvement is pending medical clearance.
Otherwise, India have named as strong a squad as possible, without too many changes from the side that beat England by 106 runs in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
India's squad for the last three Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
Here is India's best XI for the remaining three Tests against England.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Yashasvi Jaiswal
India's opening combination is unlikely to change over the remainder of the series.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been one of the side's standout batters, with important contributions in the first innings of both Tests. The southpaw is on course to have a prolific series and make more big scores.
In contrast, Rohit Sharma has struggled at the other end. The Indian skipper has been disappointing with both his batting and his captaincy and needs to turn things around in the last three Tests.
Middle order: Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Axar Patel
India have seemingly moved on from Shreyas Iyer, whose Test returns have been rather disappointing lately. They haven't added any other batting backups to the squad, presumably due to the returns of Rahul and Jadeja. If the duo are fit, they will slot into the middle order.
Rajat Patidar made his debut in Vizag, and while it would be harsh to drop him after just one outing, Sarfaraz Khan has scored way too many runs over the years to be ignored. The 26-year-old is as prolific as they come in red-ball cricket and has all the makings of a world-class Test batter.
While Patidar is likely to suit up in Rajkot as well, Sarfaraz might just be a slightly better option.
The hosts might need to make another change in the middle order, with KS Bharat disappointing both behind and in front of the stumps. The Vizag-born keeper hasn't scored a single half-century in Test cricket so far, leading to many fans and experts calling for his exclusion.
Giving Dhruv Jurel his maiden cap in such a high-octane series will be a bold move, but Bharat hasn't offered enough so far to warrant being backed to that extent. Jurel could thus be part of India's strongest XI for the remainder of the series.
Axar Patel's bowling hasn't been satisfactory, but he adds too much value as an all-round package for his place in the side to be doubted. The southpaw will want to improve as the series wears on.
Lower order: Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav
Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah are the key cogs in the Indian bowling lineup. The latter's workload must be managed, though, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he is rested for the fourth Test, which commences shortly after the third concludes.
The final spot in India's XI should be a toss-up between Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. Siraj was rested for the Visakhapatnam Test, and Kuldeep, who featured, was impressive. This is a call that will be taken based on the conditions, but the wrist spinner could just be a better option if there's even a slight bit of turn on offer.