India’s playing XI vs England for 1st Test: Virat Kohli confirmed on Thursday that Rishabh Pant will start against England in the first Test at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, which will begin from Friday. The Indian skipper although did not reveal the playing XI he did drop a few hints about who will be included in the starting eleven.
“Rishabh will take the gloves tomorrow. He has had impact performances in Australia recently. He is in good space. We want him to build on this along with him improving all aspects of the game, which will happen with more game time.
“He has come along very nicely. He wasn’t part of white-ball formats, but he kept working hard on his fitness, on his games. We have backed him quite a lot and for good reason – something you saw in Australia.
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He will continue to be backed. With his hard work he can be a very very consistent match-winner and someone the opposition will be wary of in the future,” he said.
Ind vs Eng: Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma to open
Gill and Sharma had a great outing in Australia. Owing to their performance, they cemented their place in the Indian Test squad. Kohli believed that the team would want to give the duo more chances and look forward to how they perform. “We are looking forward to more good performances from both of them. They were very good in Australia, and we hope they continue it throughout the series against England,” he said during the pre-match conference.
Ind vs Eng: Kuldeep Yadav also in fray to start
Once a mainstay of India’s spin department in red-ball cricket, Kuldeep’s slump in form and re-emergence of Ashwin has kept, the former out of the starting eleven for nearly two years. However, Kohli revealed that since the Test series is in India, Yadav will be in the scheme of things when picking up the team for the Chennai Test.
“It’s a delicate balance that we have. Kuldeep hasn’t had much of game time in the longest format for a while now. In New Zealand, the conditions were not suited for playing three spinners, something he understood,” Kohli said.
“Now that the home seasons starts he will be in the scheme of things. He will be in the team’s plans.”
Ind vs Eng: Jasprit Bumrah to start, choice between Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj
The Indian fast bowling will be spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah. Kohli said that ‘Jassi’ has been in great form and is eager to return to the pitch. “We outbowled England’s pacers the last time we played them at home. Jassi (Bumrah) will be keen to play his maiden home Test and it’s exciting to know we have options like Mohammed Siraj and Ishant Sharma as well,” said Kohli.
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