India vs England Test Series: India's predicted 16-man squad and starting XI

The much awaited India vs England Test series is set to begin in a few months time, and there is a broad consensus among critics that if in the history of Indian cricket, no team has had as high a chance of succeeding in English conditions as this one.

However, despite the fact that India has an excellent group of players in and around the national set-up, there remains a lot of uncertainty around who will be in the squad, and who will actually take the field. This slideshow looks at both: the probable Indian 15-man squad and the best playing XI that they could field.

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Openers: Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan

The 'opening conundrum' in the Indian Test team is no longer being solved now than it was when it started, so, naturally, picking the openers remains a difficult task. However, in overseas conditions, one of the openers clearly merits a place in the side: Murali Vijay. Despite his lackluster tour of South Africa, Murali Vijay's solid technique and patient play makes him India's most reliable opener in overseas conditions. His record in England - 402 runs in 5 matches at an average of 40.2 - is also good, considering how much Asian batsmen tend to struggle in those conditions.

The choice for the second opening slot is a toss-up between Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, and between these two, there is no clear favorite. However, Dhawan's form in the IPL, his one session hundred against Afghanistan, and the fact that he opened the innings along with Murali Vijay in the Test match against Afghanistan indicates that he will be the one partnering Murali Vijay at the top of the innings. That being said, Dhawan has been susceptible in overseas conditions, and even if the management picks him ahead of Rahul for the first Test, there is a very real possibility that Rahul may take his spot mid-series.

Middle-order: Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane

India's middle-order arguably consists of their three best Test batsmen at the moment.

Virat Kohli, the captain of the team, is everyone's first name in the team-sheet, and there can be no debate about his inclusion in the side. Despite Kohli's dominance in world cricket in recent years, England is one country where he has struggled to perform in Test matches, granted that his solitary Test tour of England was four years ago. For India to perform well, they need Virat Kohli to rectify his mistakes from his previous England tour and make some substantial contributions - just like he has in all other parts of the world.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, arguably India's most technically correct batsmen, have both been going through a lean patch off late, the latter in a more concerning manner. However, Rahane is known as India's best overseas specialist and has performed in a stellar manner in several previous overseas tours. While Pujara's record on overseas tours is not as stellar, he has had multiple stints in county cricket - including one this year - and that experience will make him an invaluable asset in English conditions. That being said, if one of these two does not perform in the first few tests, then the management may bring in KL Rahul to play in the middle-order, just the way he did in the Test match against Afghanistan.

Lower-middle order: Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya

The choice of the wicketkeeper remains a difficult one, and the management will have to weigh the superior batting ability of Karthik and the superior keeping ability of Saha. Saha is, with little opposition, the best keeper in the world; however, in tough English conditions, considering how much Saha has struggled with the bat on previous overseas assignments, the superior batting ability of Karthik may prevail. Karthik is a genuine batsman, and his presence in the 11 allows the team to strike a great balance and enables them to play six proper batsmen, one seam-bowling all-rounder, and four proper bowlers.

Coming to the seam-bowling all-rounder, Hardik Pandya merits a place in the side with little opposition. The reason he has been groomed for the past two and a half years, and the reason that the Indian team has invested so much in him is because a quality seam bowling all-rounder is worth his weight in gold in overseas conditions. Pandya had a so-so test series in South Africa: he was brilliant in the first match and did not contribute much in the other two. On this tour of England, he will be looking to combine his generally attacking way of playing with some maturity and consistency, the way he has shown in the past few months.

Bowlers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami

Not often does the expression 'spoiled for choice' apply when it comes to choosing Indian fast bowlers, but India is so blessed with a great pace battery that it is difficult to choose among them.

Ravichandran Ashwin occupies the sole spinner's spot, and few will argue against him, for he offers more with the bat and with the ball than Ravindra Jadeja. This, combined with his previous county experience, makes him a viable proposition as the spinning all-rounder in the XI.

The pace bowlers in the XI - Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, and Shami - have been picked on the basis of their performance on the South Africa tour. Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah have emerged as India's best pacers across formats, and despite the fact that both were predominantly considered limited overs bowlers before the tour of South Africa, their respective performances in South Africa were outstanding and there is little doubt that they will occupy two of the slots for pacers. The third slot, which is a toss-up between Yadav, Sharma. and Shami goes to Shami on the basis of his performance in South Africa and ability to reverse-swing the ball. Even if India start with this bowling attack, they may switch it up to a four-pacer attack, like they did in the last Test against South Africa, in which case either Ishant or Umesh will play instead of Ashwin.

The reserves: Wriddhiman Saha, KL Rahul, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja

The reserves, all of whom are good enough to be in the 11, will be key for the team in a five-match series where the depth of the squad will be seriously tested. While carrying a second keeper may be a rather unconventional thing to do, the Indian team has done that on previous overseas tours, and if Dinesh Karthik does play, Saha will definitely be on the bench.

KL Rahul, who can play both at the top and in the middle order, will be a key batsman for India, especially considering how versatile he is - out of all the reserves, he probably has the highest chance of playing. Given the length of this test series, depth in India's fast bowling attack will be key, and Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma provide just that, with the latter having extensive experience in English conditions having played there on two previous tours and having just finished a successful county stint with Sussex.

It seems slightly absurd that the bowler ranked the third best in test cricket will have to sit out; but due to the conditions, such is the case with Ravindra Jadeja. There is a chance that his services will not be employed in any of the five matches; however, despite that, he needs to remain ready to grab his chance if called upon.