Team India led by skipper Rohit Sharma engaged in a full-fledged practice at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad ahead of the IND vs ENG 1st Test. The Men in Blue will take on Ben Stokes and co. in a five-match Test series commencing from January 25 onwards.
IND vs ENG 1st Test: Sharma and co. train hard
India have been dominant on home soil over the past decade, winning 16 series in a row but they will be aware of England and their ‘bazball’ strategy which has been a massive success in last few years.
The pitch at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is batting-friendly. Although most pitches in recent times in India favor spinners, the surface in Hyderabad allows batters to score big runs.
India squad (for first 2 Tests): Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan
England Squad: Ben Stokes, James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoib Bashir, *Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Dan Lawerence.