Joe Root-led England have won the toss and they have opted to bat first against Virat Kohli-led India in Nottingham. Meanwhile, India have decided to play Ravindra Jadeja ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin and they have picked Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj as their main pacers. Also, KL Rahul makes it to the playing XI and he will play as an opener along with Rohit Sharma.
For England, Jonny Bairstow comes back and Sam Curran comes in as well. However, Jack Leach misses out.
MATCH PREVIEW
The toughest four months of Virat Kohli’s eventful leadership career start in Nottingham on Wednesday (August 4) when his strategic acumen will be tested while selecting a perfect Indian combination to take on a good England side in the first Test of a five-match series. Kohli announced his playing XI for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand couple of days before the game and drew flak for not respecting the conditions.
Also, Kohli was a part of the 2014 team when it lost 1-3 against England and the then vice-captain had a torrid time with the bat. He came back determined in 2018, scored truckloads of runs but a poor team choice at the Lord’s and one bad batting session in Southampton meant that under him, India lost 1-4. Hence, Kohli will aim to turn things around this time.
On the other hand, for Joe Root, in a gruelling Test series, Broad and Anderson would certainly be rotated keeping their age in mind but even the England captain would be quick to acknowledge that Ben Stokes’ absence due to ‘mental health issues’ would be a very big factor.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
England (Playing XI): Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root(c), Jonny Bairstow, Daniel Lawrence, Jos Buttler(w), Sam Curran, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
