India handed B Sai Sudharsan his Test debut as England won the toss and chose to bowl in the opening match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Headingley on Friday. The five-Test series also kicks off a new ICC World Test Championship cycle for both teams.
Sudharsan, a left-handed batter from Tamil Nadu, has featured for Surrey in the County Championship. He was given his India cap by Cheteshwar Pujara, who is on commentary duty for the series. The 22-year-old will bat at number three for India. The occasion also holds significance as it falls on the same date Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly (1996), and Virat Kohli (2011) made their Test debuts.
Karun Nair returns to India’s Test side after more than seven years and will bat at number six. Shubman Gill, in his first match as Test captain, said he would have opted to bowl as well.
Changes in India’s line-up
Shardul Thakur has been included as the seam-bowling all-rounder, slotted to bat at number eight. He was picked ahead of youngster Nitish Kumar Reddy. Ravindra Jadeja is the only specialist spin option in the side, leaving no place for Kuldeep Yadav.
India’s pace attack features Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna. Rishabh Pant has been named vice-captain and will keep wickets.
Gill Leads India, Stokes Aims to Capitalise Early
Gill said the team is well-prepared and excited for the series. “It’s a dry summer. There might be some movement early, but it should become a good batting surface,” he said. “The boys are in a good space mentally and physically.”
England captain Ben Stokes admitted their preparation has been uneven. However, he remains confident. “Headingley has produced great games. We’ve had a solid three-day build-up, and everyone is raring to go,” Stokes said.
Playing XIs:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain, wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
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