The teams for India’s next home series against England’s first two Test matches were recently revealed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The majority of the players who were on the tour team in South Africa earlier this month remained on the squad.
Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur didn’t make the cut after their performance against South Africa. The team welcomes back spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. They’d been absent during the away tour. Now, they’ll join Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in managing the spin.
Ishan Kishan is still nowhere to be seen, and why remains a mystery. KL Rahul has snagged the role of wicket-keeper once more. New face Dhruv Jurel, 22, receives his first summons to the Indian Test team, serving as back-up keeper with KS Bharat. High-profile names like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been overlooked again.
Indian cricket supporters shared memes on social media to voice their opinions after observing the Indian team for the first two Test matches against England.
The top memes are compiled here:
Ollie Pope on India’s pitches: A massive talking point for England
The vice-captain of the English Test squad recently predicted that the pitches will help spinners on their forthcoming visit to India and said they won’t be upset if that turns out to be the case. Pope remarked in an interview with The Guardian:
“There will be a lot of outside noise. And pitches can be a massive talking point. But you have to remember the two teams are playing on the exact same wicket, so we just need to be as well equipped as we can. In England, we might leave more grass on the pitch to suit our amazing seamers, so it’s no surprise if India do the same to suit their spinners. And I actually think low-scoring Test matches are pretty amazing to watch.
Ollie Pope
Ollie Pope added:
“I saw a fair bit of South Africa versus India, and it was great: guys scoring seriously tough runs, and the ball flying through. The scores could be similar in India, but if the pitches spin from ball one, we won’t be complaining. It’s about finding a method to combat it.”
Ollie Pope
India and England will play their first Test match of the five-match series in Hyderabad on January 25.
