India’s tour of England 2021 [Preview]
India is scheduled to tour England in the month of August and September to play five-match Test series. The hosts have announced their Test squad for the five-match series. On the other hand, India have named 22-man squad for the Test series.
Opener Shubham Gill, pacer Avesh Khan and all-rounder Washington Sundar have been ruled out of the Test series due to injuries. Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav have been named as replacements for Shubham Gill and Washington Sundar.
Uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran and wicket-keeper K.S.Bharat have been named in the Test squad. The duo will be hopeful of playing some part in the Test series.
In the warm-up game, Lokesh Rahul played well and scored a splendid century to make a serious dash for selection for the first Test at Nottingham. Umesh Yadav was the pick of the bowlers and claimed three wickets.
In the batting department, the onus will be on opener Rohit Sharma, Captain Virat Kohli, Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant to deliver the bulk of the runs.
Since July 2019, opener Rohit Sharma has shown excellent form with the bat in red-ball cricket. In 12 Tests played, Sharma has accumulated 1094 runs at an average of 60.77 with four centuries and two half-centuries to his name.
Besides Rohit Sharma, wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant was excellent with the bat in the Test series played against England earlier this year. The youngster showed grit and determination and notched up a splendid ton against England in final game of the series at Ahmedabad.
Cheteshwar Pujara will be under immense going into this Test series against England. In the past, Pujara has struggled to deliver big scores in England conditions and is averaging less than 30. Since July 2019, Pujara has scored close to 850 runs with nine fifties to his name.
In the bowling department, the pace trio of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami to deliver crucial breakthroughs in the five-match Test series.
Apart from Bumrah and Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav are other prominent pacers named in the Test squad for the five-match series.
Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Ravi Ashwin are three spinners named in the Test squad for England series.
In 2018, Virat Kohli’s India lost the five-match Test series against England by a 4-1 scoreline. The Men in Blue will be looking to win break drought in England and win the Test series after 14 years.
On the other hand, Ben Stokes, Haseeb Hameed and Ollie Robinson make their return to the Test squad for the five-match series against India. Despite doing poorly in India, Jonny Bairstow has been named in the squad for the home series against England.
In the batting department, the side will be relying on opener Zak Crawley, Captain Joe Root, all-rounder Ben Stokes and wicket-keeper Jos Buttler to deliver the bulk of the runs.
Despite doing exceedingly well in overseas conditions, Joe Root has struggled to deliver big scores in English conditions. He will be looking to do well in this five-match Test series.
Sam Curran Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Board and James Anderson are premier pacers for the side for the five-match Test series. Jack Leach, Dominic Bess are spinners named for the Test squad.
The opening game of the five-match Test series will be played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham from 4th till 8th August. The second game of the five-match Test series will be played at Lords from 12th till 16th August.
The third game of the Test series will be played at Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds from 25th till 29th August. The fourth game of the Test series will be played at The Oval in London from 2nd till 6th September.
The fifth and final game of the Test series will be played at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester from 10th till 14th September.
