Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s Bazballers have arrived in India with the aim of repeating the feat of Alastair Cook’s team from 2012: winning a Test series in India. The odds are stacked against them: India have not lost a home series since 2012, winning 16 on a trot.
However, if there has been a time in the past decade that the Indian team could be beaten at home, it is right now. The current unit is a team in transition. A few senior players have already been dropped while KL Rahul is making his comeback in the side. India will be missing Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami, two of their best players over the past six years.
But the biggest factor for the English fans to believe that their team could win this series is the kind of lottery pitches that India could prepare. With the WTC points at stake, India are expected to dish out extremely spin-friendly surfaces, something which backfired on them in Indore last year against Australia.
For England, they have been given a major blow even before the series has started. Harry Brook, who averages 62 in 12 Test matches and has a strike rate of 91, has pulled out of the series due to personal reasons. This series also kickstarts England’s era post Stuart Broad.
England have not played Test cricket since the Ashes in July last year. Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, and Broad are three players who featured in England’s last Test, but won’t be in Hyderabad.
With Brook pulling out, it is all but certain that Ben Foakes will come into the XI and take the gloves, putting to bed the debate between him and Bairstow. Ollie Pope returns after an injury-forced layoff and will slot in at number 3.
Two out of James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, and Mark Wood are expected to be picked, while young leggie Rehan Ahmed is in line to play his maiden Test in India. Jack Leach will be England’s lead spinner with Joe Root in support.
Probable England’s Playing XI for 1st Test against India in Hyderabad:
- Zak Crawley
- Ben Duckett
- Ollie Pope
- Joe Root
- Ben Stokes (C)
- Jonny Bairstow
- Ben Foakes (wk)
- Jack Leach
- James Anderson/Ollie Robinson
- Mark Wood
- Rehan Ahmed
England Test squad for 5 Tests vs India: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root Mark Wood, Dan Lawrence (replacement of Harry Brook)
Also Read: IND vs ENG: “An Absolute STAR” – Kevin Pietersen Reacts To News Of Harry Brook Returning Home
