India's probable Test XI against England

Being the number one team in Test Cricket in the world, India has a reputation and lots of expectations to live up to. Having a few players who have been playing County Cricket gives India an advantage, but defeating the mighty English side on their home turf will be challenging. Let's look at who all could make it to the playing XI against England

#1 Murali Vijay

Being calm and composed, irrespective of what the situation is on field, is a commendable quality. Murali Vijay, also referred to as 'Monk' by his teammates, epitomizes calmness and composure. He is one man who is never in a hurry to score runs and takes his time while putting the bad deliveries away stylishly and leaving the good ones. One of the best players of swing bowling in India and one of the finest readers of the cricket ball behavior, Murali Vijay has made himself a test match specialist batsman.

#2 KL Rahul

KL Rahul initially made his entry to International cricket through Test Cricket, and had a forgettable debut against Australia at Melbourne, but came back with a stunning 110 at Sydney in the very next match. He showed how well he could bounce back and that too, when he had no international experience. With time, he has become an integral part of the Indian Test side. He has been extremely consistent at the top of the order and therefore, deserves to open for India against England.

KL Rahul

#3 Cheteshwar Pujara

The number 3 spot is always reserved for India's undisputed number 3 in Test Cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara. A class batsman who has many records in his name and has also shown marked improvement over time, Pujara is an obvious choice for the position.

Cheteshwar Pujara

#4 Virat Kohli

Skipper Virat might not have been as consistent in Test Cricket, but he has a lot to give back to England. He must be still having the dismal memories of his last bilateral series in England, where he had failed miserably with the bat in all formats.

He would look to overcome his weakness of playing swinging deliveries outside the off stump, something he has always been vulnerable in England to. Indian fans would be hoping to see him fire and lead by example, just as he did in his career defining series against Australia in late 2014.

Virat Kohli

#5 Ajinkya Rahane

India's go to man in foreign conditions, Ajinkya has a point to prove in England. With a very bad season of IPL behind his back, losing his spot in the limited overs side and some poor performances in Test Cricket, Rahane has to step up to his role of anchoring the innings during the middle overs and be consistent, being the Vice Captain.

He has great numbers and statistics outside the subcontinent, but he has to thoroughly live up to his reputation and the expectations from him. One more bad series for Rahane might mean eviction from the team, making way for Karun Nair at number 5 or maybe Shikhar Dhawan getting a place at the top, while KL Rahul bats at number 4, in between Pujara and Kohli.

Ajinkya Rahane

#6 Wriddhiman Saha

India's best wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha is probably the best wicketkeeper in the world at the moment, and has quite a task on his shoulders. He needs to build crucial partnerships in case India loses wickets upfront, continue good starts given by the preceding batsmen and also finish off the innings at times.

Therefore, apart from his extraordinary keeping skills, India would be banking on his role as a lower middle order batsman as well.

#7 Hardik Pandya

From being a lanky T20 exclusive player, who could slog and hit sixes and also bowl a few overs of seam in the middle, Hardik Pandya has developed himself into the dependable all rounder he is today.

He is seen as a serious threat by all oppositions today, after the insane 108 against Sri Lanka and the 93 against South Africa, hitting the bowlers on all sides of the park on both occasions. England would be aware that they shouldn't take Pandya lightly. His ability to bowl quick in the middle overs and maintain pressure on the opposition makes him a must for the Indian Test side.

Hardik Pandya

#8 Ravichandran Ashwin

Apart from being India's best bowler in the longer format of the game, Ashwin is also a very handy batsman who has a good technique and can build partnerships. He has 4 test centuries and 11 fifties, which speak volumes about his quality and caliber as a test batsman. He can do wonders for India, as he has been doing over the years, picking frequent 5 wicket hauls and also contributing with the bat.

Ravi Ashwin

#9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvi is someone who doesn't have that panache or built of a classical Test Cricket Fast bowler such as the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus, Dale Steyn or Glenn McGrath, but once he starts bowling, he seems no less than a magician with the ball. With the ability to swing the ball both ways and pick wickets early on, playing Bhuvneshwar is a no-brainer.

His unique ability to stick at the pitch for long periods of time while batting with the tail is an added advantage. He has had record partnerships with several batsmen, enabling the batsmen to play their shots freely, such as the partnership with MS Dhoni when the former skipper scored 224*.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar

#10 Kuldeep Yadav

One of the most talented and skillful spinners in India at the moment, Kuldeep has lots to offer. He can bowl the regular chinaman, the wrong-un or googly as well as the flipper quite comfortably. However, his strength and secret to success has been bowling his stock delivery consistently and always looking to pick wickets.

With a fantastic 4-wicket haul on his debut, and a leading contributor to India's home series victory against Australia in 2017, Kuldeep has the ability to end up as one of the greats to have played the game.

Kuldeep Yadav

#11 Ishant Sharma / Jasprit Bumrah

Indian Skipper Virat Kohli might want to go with the experience of Ishant Sharma, who has played in England before, and would be familiar with the conditions. He had also scalped 7 wickets for 74, his career best figures in India's historic win at Lords.

Given the added advantage that he has been playing County Cricket for the last 2-3 months and has done exceedingly well in the same, swinging the ball both sides and picking lots of wickets, he is almost certain to be picked.

Ishant Sharma

There still remains a slight chance that Skipper Virat and Head Coach Ravi Shastri may give Jasprit Bumrah an opportunity ahead of Ishant, after the commendable way he bowled in his debut Test series in South Africa early this year. However, Bumrah, with his lack of experience in bowling in English conditions, may lose out on playing the tests, and could be just warming the bench as a reserve player.

If and only if the pitch and conditions permit in any particular test match, that render spin ineffective, and India needs Fast bowlers, Bumrah might get a go in place of Kuldeep Yadav. However, it is heavily unlikely that India would play 4 Fast bowlers and just one spinner.

Jasprit Bumrah: In or out?