England vs India: 3 things to look forward to in upcoming England's Test squad announcement

On Thursday (July 26) at Lord's, England will announce their squad for the first Test against India, which begins next week. National Selector Ed Smith and newly appointed James Taylor have a hard task in their hand.

Plenty of factors will be taken into consideration for the player selection – recent form, weather conditions, fitness issues, team balance, oppositions’ strengths and weakness.

With each team winning a series each, both sides will be hungry to seal the Test series. With only a few hours left for the announcement, let us look at three things, which we can expect in England’s Test squad.

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#1 Cook’s partner

The upcoming Test series will be very crucial for Jennings

England’s quest for finding the ideal partner for Cook in the more extended format is similar to India’s long-lasting no.4 conundrum in the limited-overs format. Andrew Strauss’s retirement created a massive void in the opening department. More than ten different players had participated in this musical chair competition. None emerged as the winner.

Mark Stoneman was the last player to be axed from the Test squad. Keaton Jennings replaced Stoneman in the second Test against Pakistan. As of now, England can go with Jennings for the first match. If Jennings failed in the first game, then Rory Burns will replace him. Burns, who captained the Lions against India A last week, scored his third Championship century for Surrey in the current round of matches.

#2 Spinners

Rashid played his last Test match against the same opponent India on December 2016

Before the start of India’s tour of England, most of the experts placed their bets on England to clinch the 5-match Test series. The weather conditions during the Test matches are expected to assist England’s seamers. In contrast, the weather is scorching right now in England. As a result, the pitches are expected to remain dry throughout the day. This unexpected weather can lead England to pick more spinners in their Test squad.

Especially, Adil Rashid, who performed exceptionally well in the ODI series, is expected to make a comeback to the Test squad. Even though Rashid recently stopped playing red-ball cricket for his county, the selectors will be tempted to pick the leggie for the test series.

Jack Leach, who missed the Pakistan series because of injury, is expected to return to the squad. Dom Bess was impressive (mainly with the bat) in his debut series against Pakistan. Moeen Ali can also return to the side to strengthen the lower-order.

#3 Surprise inclusions

Buttler carried his white-ball form into the Test series against Pakistan

Over the past few years, England Selectors are often used to throw in some surprises in the test squad. In 2016, Gareth Batty returned to England’s test squad for the series against Bangladesh and India after a long gap of 11-years. Also, Cook’s partner will be a surprise package in every series.

Even in the Ashes 2017-18, the selections of Gary Ballance and James Vince raised several eyebrows. Recently, Jos Buttler was recalled to the Test squad based on his brilliant form in the white-ball cricket.

Hence, there is a chance that the Selectors can surprise everyone on coming Thursday.