India vs England | India’s predicted XI for the first Test in Birmingham

India vs England | India’s predicted XI for the first Test in Birmingham

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In what is the most-anticipating series of the English summer, the best batsmen in the world at the moment - Virat Kohli and Joe Root - go will go up against each other. While England’s Test reputation is at stake, Virat Kohli will also have some personal scores to settle over next six weeks.

KL Rahul: Shikhar Dhawan’s loss is KL Rahul’s gain. After the southpaw secured a pair of DUCK in the warm-up game against Essex, KL Rahul has turned out to be India’s new opening candidate in Tests. The Karnataka opener seems to be in good touch and his fluent 58 and 36* at Chelmsford affirmed that he has it in him to be the enforcer in the top-order.

Murali Vijay: If Rahul can be the enforcer, Murali Vijay is the serial run accumulator for India. He can be counted on to blunt the duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson with his meticulous style given his strength lies in his core batting aspects - the leave and the drive. 

Cheteshwar Pujara: For all the talk surrounding Pujara’s lacklustre form on the county circuit, and the overseas tours overall, he is still a vital cog in India’s arsenal for his ability to play out deliveries to make the ball old. India needs him to score nothing more than 50 runs but needs him to play at least 150 deliveries, so as to protect Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli from facing the new ball.

Virat Kohli: Four years ago, Virat Kohli came England and left embarrassing himself as his shortcomings against moving ball exposed him completely. However, after four years, he is racking records for fun and the English tour will be the final frontier for him. Having spent nearly 40 days in the UK now, Kohli has a better understanding of the conditions and is better placed to settle scores. 

Ajinkya Rahane: At No.5 Ajinkya Rahane, India’s premier overseas specialist, is likely to get the nod. India's only win in their 13-Test run in England and Australia in 2014 and 2015 came on the back of a Rahane century on a green seamer at Lord’s. Once Rahane finds the ball old, one can almost always count on him. 

Dinesh Karthik: Karthik, who made his Test comeback against Afghanistan in June, will have the big responsibility of filling in for India’s first choice wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who would be undergoing shoulder surgery. In the 2007 series in England, Karthik had played a pivotal role scoring 60 at Lord’s, 77 at Trent Bridge, and 91 at the Oval in India’s 1-0 series victory, which remains India’s last Test series win in UK. 

Ravichandran Ashwin: Since the start of India's epic home season in 2016, the pacers have taken a total of 175 wickets in 23 Tests, at an average of 27.01. The spinners, on the other hand, have taken 248 at 25.56 and Ashwin had a major role to play in it. Ashwin’s ability to read batsmen's mind can be a huge asset for India in the series and his batting makes him an interesting option. 

Hardik Pandya: Due to the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah in the team, Hardik will accompany the pacers as India’s fourth pace-bowling option. However, Kohli will also need him to fire with the bat and that will be crucial to India’s chances in the series.

Mohammed Shami: In helpful conditions, Shami has proven to be a brilliant customer and his ability to generate bounce off the surface means he can be a suitable candidate to open the bowling alongside Ishant Sharma. Considering the batting vulnerability of English top-order, count on the Bengal pacer to strike some blows. 

Ishant Sharma: Remember the Lord’s Test of 2014. After a stupendous Ajinkya Rahane century on a green summer, Ishant Sharma made the English batsmen dance to his tune and picked up seven wickets. This summer will be another chance for the Delhi pacer to show it to the world that why he has been considered as a wily operator on conditions helpful for pacers.

Umesh Yadav: Despite being pulled back by injuries and patchy form repeatedly, the boy from Nagpur has never really forgotten why he started playing the game in the first place and stuck to his USP - pace. This is a factor that can instill the fear of god among English batsmen and something that can give the Indians some sort of hope.

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