India will
aim to continue their winning run following the morale-boosting series win in
Australia and clinch a berth in the World Test Championship Final later this
year with a win over England in the upcoming series.

The hosts
will unquestionably be favourites for the four-match series with the return of
a number of first-choice players, including skipper Virat Kohli, who returned home
following the first Test in Adelaide to attend the birth of his first child.

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In his absence,
stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane led an injury-ravaged side from 1-0 down to
clinch a sensational 2-1 series win and hand Australia their first loss at the
Gabba Stadium since 1988.

Now the Men
in Blue will face the Three Lions, who arrive on the back of a 2-0 whitewash of
Sri Lanka and with skipper Joe Root in ominous form, looking to record their
first Test win on Indian soil since 2012.

However, home
turf advantage and a return to spin-friendly conditions will favour India to
prevail in the series and book their place in the World Test Championship final
against New Zealand at the Lord’s cricket ground in June.

India are
top of the table following the win against Australia, with New Zealand,
Australia and England occupying the next spots. New Zealand qualified for the
final after Australia pulled out of their tour of South Africa over COVID-19
concerns.

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India will
be without the services of pacer Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja
for the first two Tests due to injuries but England will be well aware of the
threat posed by the hosts’ bowling attack.

Paceman
Mohammed Siraj was one of the gems unearthed by India during the Australia
series and has been included in the squad for the England series. Pace spearhead
Jasprit Bumrah will lead the attack, which also includes Ishant Sharma and
Shardul Thakur, the latter another one of the heroes from the Gabba Test.

Spinners
Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel are among
India’s spin options.   

Meanwhile, England
will be looking for their own spinners, Jack Leach, Dom Bess and Moeen Ali, to make
the most of the spinning tracks in Chennnai and Ahmedabad, which will host the
first and last two Tests respectively.

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They have
also included three reserve spinners in Mason Crane, Matthew Parkinson and Amar
Virdi.

Coming on
the back of match-winning scores of 228 and 186 in the first and second matches
against Sri Lanka, Root will be looking for another big score in the first Test
in Chennai, which will be his 100th.

The
visitors have also been boosted by the returns of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and
Rory Burns. Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler will go home after the first Test and
Jonny Bairstow has been rested for the first two matches.

The first
Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, starting February 5, will be played behind closed doors, with
a 50% capacity will be allowed in the second Test at the same venue.

The pink-ball
third Test and the fourth will be the first held at the Sardar Patel Stadium in
Ahmedabad.