England will arrive in India for a series of five Test matches, which will be part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023-25). The five-Test series will begin on January 25, 2024.
The five Test matches will be played on January 25 in Hyderabad, February 2nd in Visakhapatnam, February 15 in Rajkot, February 23 in Ranchi and March 7 in Dharamshala.
England has not won a Test series in India since 2012 and were routed 2-1 the last time they visited India in 2021 amidst the Covid pandemic. On the other hand, India leveled the five-Test series in England which was played in 2021, with one Test which was played in 2022.
India will be coming into the series on the back of a morale-boosting first-ever Test win in Cape Town over South Africa, which also helped them level the two-Test series 1-1.
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Ahead of that, Team COC presents the Predicted Team India squad for the first 2 Tests against England.
Rohit Sharma will captain the side and is expected to continue opening the innings with young Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jaiswal might not have scored huge runs in South Africa, but he showed great intent to get the runs.
With Ruturaj Gaikwad out with an injured finger, the backup opener role might be given to Abhimanyu Easwaran. Easwaran will be captain of India A against England Lions in the first four-day game as well.
The middle order is expected to be the same as in South Africa. Shubman Gill is expected to get a few more chances to establish himself at no.3. Virat Kohli will provide the support at no.4 with KL Rahul coming in at the No. 5 spot. Shreyas Iyer is expected to keep his No. 6 spot despite visible struggles against the short ball in South Africa.
Reports have stated that BCCI selectors do not want Rahul to keep wickets in the England Test series and concentrate on his batting.
This might open doors for Ishan Kishan to return to the side and be the first-choice keeper during the England Test series. KS Bharat is expected to continue being the backup keeper in the squad.
Given that the Test series is being played in India, expect Akshar Patel, R Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja to be named in the Indian squad, as they provide India with both excellent spin options and batting ability. Kuldeep Yadav might get picked as the sole specialist spinner, given England batters’ obvious shortcomings against quality spin.
Mohammad Shami is not expected to be picked for the first two Tests, as he recovers from his ankle injury. This means the pace bowling duties will fall on the shoulders of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mukesh Kumar.
The spot for the backup pacer will see a contest between Prasidh Krishna, who was not impressive in his debut Test series, and Avesh Khan, who impressed with his pace, speed, and bounce in ODIs against South Africa.
COC predicted Team India squad for first two Tests against England:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Akshar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
