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India's Probable 11
India is preparing for their first home series amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The Indian team will play against England which will be their final series in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship. India's historic Test win in the Border-Gavaskar Series is still fresh. The team management has to make some tough calls ahead of the first Test.
Virat Kohli is back in the squad, as well as R. Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah. It will be challenging to select the playing XI for the first match considering how well some of the rookie players had played in Australia. Batsmen Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma are set to continue their pairing as openers. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli will capture the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively.
Washington Sundar to get an edge over Hardik Pandya in the first Test against England
Ajinkya Rahane will also resume his duties as the team's vice-captain and fill the number five slot. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant might have an advantage over Saha for the wicket-keeper's role because of his batting abilities. Saha could have been a better option for the wicket-keeper but he is likely to be dropped for the first match.
Hardik Pandya's inclusion in the team as a batsman would be a matter of concern as they already have six batsmen in the group. Thus, the Surat-born cricketer is unlikely to be included in the team for the series opener. Considering Chepauk is a spin-friendly pitch, the management will rope in three spinners for the first match. Washington Sundar might get the nod at the No. 7 position due to his all-round abilities and impressive performance in Australia. Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav are expected to join him in forming the spin-trio. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah is also sure to feature in the pace attack. The decision to choose one fast bowler between Mohamed Siraj and Ishant Sharma is going to be a challenge for the team management.
India's probable playing XI against England
Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya/Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma.