India have gone with the potent spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel for the first Test against England. But before the trio gets to work, the fiery new-ball duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will test the visiting team, as their skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, January 25, 2024. (Scorecard | Streaming)
This means that left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav will miss out, as there was no space for him in the Indian XI. As for the batting, Yashasvi Jaiswal is expected to partner India captain Rohit Sharma, with Shubman Gill in at number 3. KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will make up the middle-order core, and KS Bharat will keep wickets.
England had announced their playing XI on the eve of the match itself, with no place for James Anderson in the spin-heavy side. Ben Stokes and Co have gone in with Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley as their frontline spin options and included Mark Wood as the lone pacer.
Upon losing the toss, Rohit said: "We'd have batted as well. The pitch looks dry. Whether we bowl or bat first, we have the ability and the players to accomplish the job for us. Hopefully, we can do well."
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He added, "A good series and I am playing for the first time with five Test matches. The boys are thrilled. It will be tough, but we are prepared. We've played under these conditions previously. We know what to anticipate and what we need to accomplish; it's all about using your abilities, believing in yourself, and being bold enough to seize the chance."
He said it was a tough call to leave out Kuldeep. "It was a difficult decision to leave out Kuldeep Yadav, and we considered it carefully. Axar has performed admirably in all of his previous games and bats exceptionally effectively in these conditions. He had a great score the previous time we played against Australia. Probably the reason we chose Axar."
Stokes, after winning the toss, said: "It's typical of Indian conditions to not know what you're going to get. We'll aim to put a high score on the board. The preparation has been quite good. We understand the challenge that India provides not only to us but to every team that comes here."
He added, "They are a very successful side. We have Hartley making his debut and Rehan playing his second Test, but they have a fantastic leader in Jack Leach to guide them. I have complete faith in everyone. We chose an XI that we believe would offer us the best chance of victory. Woody is the X-Factor bowler."
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach
