Indian skipper Virat Kohli is set to be back in charge for the first of four Tests against England beginning in Chennai on Friday (February 5) after missing the last three Tests in Australia for the birth of his daughter Vamika. Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was the captain of the side in place of Kohli and led Team India to a historic 2-1 series win over Australia.
Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are also expected to return to the XI after having recovered from injuries. After a successful tour of Australia – Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill – are set to hold onto their spots in the side and will be opening at Chennai in all likelihood. There is going to be no change at the No 3 spot – which Cheteshwar Pujara has made his own.
With Kohli back in the side, he would straightaway slot into his favoured No. 4 position in the batting order. He will be followed by Ajinkya Rahane – who recently led India to a historic series win in Australia in Kohli’s absence – and Rishabh Pant – who was the star of the Australia tour.
After the top six, it will be the allrounders and India in all probability would field two allrounders. The two allrounders could be Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar – who have had a memorable tour of Australia. Hardik Pandya has also started training with the Indian team in Chennai.
Considering India would be playing at home, they would play an extra spinner apart from Ashwin. Kuldeep Yadav could edge Axar Patel and fit into that role in Ravindra Jadeja’s absence. The two pacers would be the experienced Ishant Sharma and the premier fast-bowler, Jasprit Bumrah.
India Predicted XI for first Test: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya/Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Ishant Sharma
India vs England 1st Test LIVE: Where to watch India vs England 1st Test Live Streaming?
India vs England 1st Test will be live broadcasted on Star Sports in India. It will also be Live streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.
India squad for Chennai Test: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel,
Standby: KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Abhimanya Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Chahar
Net bowlers: Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, K Gowtham, Saurabh Kumar
India vs England Test schedule:
1st Test: February 05-09, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, 09:30 AM IST
2nd Test: February 13-17, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, 09: 30 AM IST
3rd Test: February 24-28, Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, 02:30 PM IST (D/N Test)
4th Test: March 04-08, Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, 09:30 AM IST
