India Predicted XI for 1st Test vs England: Will Rajat Patidar Make His Debut in Hyderabad?

With the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) underway, Team India are set to take on England in a five-match series, their first home assignment of the ongoing cycle.

The two fierce rivals will be keen to make the most of these red-ball fixtures in a bid to hold a comfortable spot in the WTC standings.

Also Read: ‘Kuldeep is a Much More Matured Bowler Now But Axar Gives Us Batting Depth’

The opening Test between India and England will commence on January 25, with the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad hosting the big-ticket contest.

Going by the history of Test matches in India, spinners are expected to dominate the proceedings. In the batting department, India will have to deal with the absence of Virat Kohli in the first two Tests against England. Kohli opted to sit out the first two matches due to personal reasons.

The last Test series between these two powerhouses was held in England. That series ended in a 2-2 draw.

It will now be interesting to see how the English brigade demonstrates their aggressive Bazball approach on the challenging Indian wickets.

England will be without Harry Brook in the series. He has been replaced by Dan Lawrence.

India vs England Head-To-Head Records In Tests

England have the upper hand in the head-to-head records, having won 50 of their 131 Tests against India. Meanwhile, the Indian side have claimed 31 victories while the remaining 50 matches ended in a draw.

Check out India vs England Probable XIs

IND Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav

ENG Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood

India vs England Full Squad

India Full Squad: Rohit Sharma (c),Shreyas Iyer, K L Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Srikar Bharat, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

England Full Squad: Ben Stokes (c),Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Shoaib Bashir, Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Ollie Pope, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Jack Leach