India vs County Select XI: Today match players list

After almost a month-long break, the Indian side in England is back on the field for a three-day practice game against County Select XI starting Tuesday (July 20) at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street.

Rohit Sharma is captaining the side in Virat Kohli’s absence. He won the toss and opted to bat first in bright sunshine, against a County XI side led by Warwickshire skipper Will Rhodes and coached by Richard Dawson.

Tour games have been accorded first-class status after a while in Indian cricket, meaning the team management had to put up a playing XI bearing in mind a suitable combination for the first Test against England scheduled to start on August 4.

There are quite a few notable changes from the line-up which India fielded in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The absence of wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who was sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19 on July 8, has paved the way for KL Rahul to keep wickets for the first time in a FC game.

Apart from KL Rahul, the middle order will see a change in the form of Hanuma Vihari, who has been included in place of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. Opener Shubman Gill suffered shin splints earlier this month and Mayank Agarwal is back at the top of the order.

The bowling department has also been overhauled. India have gone in with a four-pronged pace attack comprising of Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, apart from two left-arm spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.

The County Select XI has two international players in wicketkeeper-batsman James Bracey, who recently debuted against New Zealand, and 24-year-old opener Haseeb Hameed, who had made a mark on England’s tour of India back in 2016.

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India vs County Select XI – 3-day practice game playing 11

India playing 11: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

India squad: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli(c), Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma

County Select XI playing 11: Haseeb Hameed, Jake Libby, Robert Yates, Washington Sundar, Will Rhodes (c), Lyndon James, James Rew (wk), Liam Patterson-White, Jack Carson, Craig Miles, Avesh Khan

County Select XI squad: Zak Chappell, Robert Yates, James Bracey (wk), Haseeb Hameed, Rehan Ahmed, James Rew, Will Rhodes (c), Jake Libby, Lyndon James, Craig Miles, Liam Patterson-White, Ethan Bamber, Jack Carson