5 Indian players who can be surprise inclusions for Test series against England

Soon, the selectors will sit down to pick the squad for the Test series against England starting August 1st. It's fair to say that the selectors and the team management will face the 'problem of plenty'.

The question marks over the availability of Bumrah, Saha and Shami continue to prevail. Also, the captain himself admitted to the fact that the spin twins Kuldeep and Chahal have made their case stronger for selection in the longer format. The inclusion of any one of them can lead to the exit of either Ashwin or Jadeja.

Also, the recent India A tour has given certain options to look at. Selecting a 16 member squad will be a good headache for the selectors keeping in mind the surplus of options available. However, too many options to choose from also indicates the quality of the bench strength.

Let us look at 5 such players who have made their case for selection in the longest format:

Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal, the wrist spinner from Haryana, along with his spin twin Kuldeep has been sensational in the limited-overs formats for India. After the 1st ODI against England, the skipper Virat Kohli said that the spin twins are making a strong case for themselves in the longer format as well.

Considering his limited-overs cricket performances in the past year and the fact that English batsmen struggle against spin, selecting him won't be a poor call. But having not played first-class cricket since December 2016, the selectors would definitely have a good, hard think before including him in the squad.

Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant

The rise of this 20-year-old Delhi cricketer over the past 2 years has been phenomenal. With Saha's fitness still a concern, he can be the backup wicketkeeper on the tour. The youngster was the second highest run scorer this IPL and played some brilliant knocks under pressure.

In the recently concluded series against Windies A, he played a brilliant knock of 67* and helped India A chase 321 in the second match of the series. This IPL season he displayed some brilliant strokeplay which can be really helpful while batting lower down the order in Tests.

Considering his immense potential, the selectors may go with him in case Saha remains unavailable for the tour.

Karun Nair

Karun Nair

After making headlines for his triple hundred against England in December 2016, the young cricketer was sidelined after the home series against Australia last year. But riding on the back of some consistent performances for Karnataka and Kings XI Punjab he was included in the 15 member squad for the Afghanistan Test match.

The youngster was also in good form in the recently-concluded series against Windies A, scoring 210 runs from 4 innings at an average of 52.5 which included 2 half centuries. Rohit Sharma's below-par record in overseas Test matches may help Karun's case as well. By picking him for the Afghanistan Test, selectors hinted at his possible comeback in the Test team.

Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj

Siraj is another emerging fast bowler in the domestic circuit. The young lad from Hyderabad has till now represented India in 3 T20 internationals and can find a place in the Indian squad for the upcoming Test series against England as the participation of Shami and Bumrah has still not been confirmed.

Siraj has picked up 65 wickets in 16 FC matches at an average of 21. In the recently concluded match against Windies A, he grabbed 8 wickets - 4 wickets in each innings. With his immense potential, he is definitely a good replacement in case a regular bowler misses out.

Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur

The fast bowler from Mumbai has been in and around the scheme of things for a while. The pacer was recently included in the Indian squad for the Afghanistan Test. Previously, he was selected for the tour of Windies in 2016.

The prevailing question marks over Bumrah's fitness can pave the way for him into the Test squad. The Mumbai cricketer has an impressive first-class record with 188 wickets in 55 matches at an average of 28.27. Recently, he was named in the India A squad for the tri-series in England where he picked up 8 wickets in 4 matches.