After India’s commanding performance in the Test series against New Zealand, the selection of the Test squad to face England for the first 2 Tests was on predictable lines. There were a few players who missed out due to injury. KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar all suffered injuries at various stages of the New Zealand series. Ishant played the last 2 matches of the Ranji Trophy and impressed with his pace. He makes a comeback to the squad as he is the undisputed leader of the pace attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was said to have recovered from his injury but has not been tested in a match environment and therefore he was not considered for selection. The squad chosen is as follows.

Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma

Gautam Gambhir made a comeback to India’s Test squad for the 3rd Test against New Zealand at Indore after being in the international wilderness for 2 years. He impressed by scoring 29 and 50 and rightly retains his place, particularly with the injuries to Dhawan and Rahul. Murali Vijay is the other opener and even though he didn’t have the best of series against the Kiwis, he has been a consistent performer at the opening position for the last few years.

Cheteshwar Pujara got a lot of runs against New Zealand and seems to have regained his old form along with a penchant to score runs at a quicker rate. Kohli and Rahane are the other 2 batsmen in the top 5 and there is no doubting their pedigree and form. Kohli has been scoring heavily and consistently in all formats in 2016 and even a few low scores raises eyebrows due to the enormously high standards he has set for himself. However his double century at Indore has silenced his detractors.

Rohit Sharma played crucial knocks against the Kiwis in the Test series and looked to have cemented his spot at the number 6 position. However, Rohit’s absence due to injury has opened a door for Nair and his inclusion in the final XI will depend on whether India opt to go in with 6 batsmen or play the extra bowler. The Indian spinners must be licking their lips in anticipation seeing England’s capitulation against spin in their recent series against Bangladesh. Ashwin and Jadeja were in superb form against the Kiwis and will look to carry on in similar vein. Amit Mishra was brilliant against the Kiwis in the ODI series and will surely play a role against England in the Test series.

Hardik Pandya has been rewarded with a maiden call-up for the Test series and it is a reward for his good performances for India ‘A’ in Australia and the ODI Series against the Black Caps. He is the only seam bowling all-rounder in the squad. He has also put on a yard of pace and has also improved his batting and has worked a lot on his fitness.

Jos Buttler has the experience of playing in the Indian conditions due to IPL and has been in terrific form over the last year or so. He has the ability to score runs quickly and counterattack when the team is in a tight spot. Cook scored a lot of runs in India during the last tour and along with Joe Root will be the major stumbling blocks for India’s bowlers.
During England last tour of India in 2012 which they won 2-1, James Anderson played a crucial role with his clever use of reverse swing. He is most likely ruled out of the first three Tests of this series and therefore Stuart Broad will have to take up the mantle as the leader of the pace attack. During the last tour the England spinners in Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar out bowled the Indian spinners and that was the main reason for England triumphing in the series.
During India’s tour of England in 2014, Moeen Ali claimed a lot of wickets and he will be the main hope for England in this series as the rest of the England spinners are very raw and inexperienced.

This series will be a great chance for youngsters from both sides to prove their worth for their nation.