The first of five Tests begins in Hyderabad on January 25 with the final match in the series beginning March 7 in Dharamsala.
New Delhi: KS Bharat will likely to keep wickets against England in the upcoming Test series and KL Rahul will play as a batter and fielder. Team India will prepare the turner track for England to let the specialist spinners handle the job at home soil reported Indian Express.
In the recently concluded Test series against South Africa, KL Rahul was keeping wickets because of his experience on bouncy pitches in South Africa. The report also stated that no fast bowlers will play all five matches. BCCI will give rest to the pacers as per workload management.
There is still no clarity on Mohammed Shami’s fitness as the veteran speedster has not yet resumed his bowling. In his absence, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, and Jasprit Bumrah will be part of India’s squad in the first two Test matches
“The Indian team will once again be playing on a turner track, and the team management felt that specialist spinners should handle the job at home. The team has many quality spinners, and the team won’t take any chances, especially when the pitch being offered will be a turner,” a source in the BCCI informed Indian Express.
The first of five Tests begins in Hyderabad on January 25 with the final match in the series beginning March 7 in Dharamsala. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav will lead the bowling attack on India’s spin-friendly pitches alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K.L. Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Avesh Khan.