1st Test: Ashwin dropped; Thakur, KL Rahul to start for India vs England

England skipper Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat. wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran have been called into the lineup and Jack Leach was not picked in England’s playing 11. 

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“We’re going to bat first. It looks like a reasonable wicket, with a little bit of movement. If we get off to a good start in the first hour, we could capitalize. Always exciting to play a big series like this. And hopefully, we could perform really well. Jonny Bairstow comes back, Sam Curran comes in as well. It has been so long since we last played. Jack Leach unfortunately misses out; a very tough decision. As you progress as a Test player, there comes the responsibility and there is an opportunity for the guys to take what Ben Stokes has left in his absence,” Root said after winning the toss. 

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England (Playing XI): Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root(c), Jonny Bairstow, Daniel Lawrence, Jos Buttler(w), Sam Curran, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

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India on the other hand go with Bumrah, Shami, Thakur, Siraj and Jadeja. Ashwin will not start for the visitors. 

 “Last time England chose to bowl first here, and we would have wanted to bat first as well. We would look to get in with the ball in the first session, and a few early breakthroughs will be handy. There is a bit of a change-up top, KL Rahul comes in. Our bowling combination is Bumrah, Shami, Thakur, Siraj and Jadeja as the spinner. You could call it an accumulation of all the hard work we have put in over the years. The opportunity to win in England and Australia in the same year is rare. To get opportunities in such times to play and play in front of crowds as well, we are grateful,” Kohli said. 

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj