After their heroics in Australia, Virat Kohli's men are all set to take on the mighty English in their home turf. Now as per a report, in Times of India, the home team is likely to play three spinners in the first Test against England at the Chepauk. Chennai historically has produced turning wickets and this series is being built around the battle between the Indian spinners against the England batsmen. The first two Tests will be played in Chennai with the first of them starting from February 5. The Indian team have had a first look at the pitch with the naked eye. In all likelihood, Kuldeep Yadav will partner first-choice spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. In case India needs more depth in batting, Washington Sundar will get the nod over Axar Patel given his recent exploits with the bat in Australia.
Meanwhile, the return of Ishant Sharma will see him replace Mohammed Siraj, despite the latter having a dream run against Australia. Siraj's performance in Australia does back his case but Ishant's experience and stature makes this choice incredibly difficult. As per the TOI source, only a fitness issue would see Ishant miss out on a spot in the playing XI. "It's true that Siraj has done well in Australia but if there are no fitness issues with Ishant, his experience will help him get the nod for the first Test with Jasprit Bumrah," the source asserted.As things stand, Hardik Pandya is likely to miss out on a spot in the team as he isn't bowling at the moment. As a pure batsman, it doesn't look like the Indian team has a spot for him if a 5-man bowling unit is being selected.
Team India Full Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-captain), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur.
Net Bowlers: Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, Krishnappa Gowtham, Saurabh Kumar
Standby players: K S Bharat, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Chahar, Priyank Panchal
