Nadeem, Ishant, Washington get a game: India’s playing XI for first Test against England in Chennai

England have won the toss and have opted to bat first in the Chennai Test. It should allow them to make the best of the batting conditions even as India pacer Jasprit Bumrah gets ready to play in his first Test at home.

“We are going to bat first,” said Root. “We are going to try and get the best of this wicket, think it will deteriorate as the game moves forward and maybe go up down for the seamers and take spin for the spinners.”

He added: “India are playing some fantastic cricket, we have to play at our best and we are very confident. Let me try to get this right. From the last game Crawley, Wood, Curran, Jonny... are missing. Archer, Stokes, Burns are in.”

The big call for India was to decide on a replacement for Axar Patel, who complained of pain in his left knee during Team India’s optional training session on Thursday.

The team opted to go for a like-for-like replacement with Shahbaz Nadeem coming into the team for Patel.

“Would have batted first as well,” said Kohli after losing the toss. “We are not thinking about the Test championship at the moment, just take one game at a time. I come in, Ishant is back. Nadeem plays his second game, Ashwin and Washi, both are starting. Same batting order from the Brisbane Test.”

India’s XI for first in Chennai: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Shahbaz Nadeem.

India’s full squad for first two Tests: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-captain), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Ashwin Ravichandran, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur

India return to action after the highs Down Under where Ajinkya Rahane led an injury-ravaged side from 0-1 down to a sensational 2-1 away win. Up against Joe Root’s side, who are also on a winning streak after beating Sri Lanka 2-0 on their first Test tour since the pandemic, India start as favourites at home where England haven’t won a Test since 2012.

Earlier on Thursday, England batsman Zak Crawley was ruled out of the first two Tests in India with a wrist injury, his country’s cricket board said on Thursday.

Crawley, 23, slipped on a marble floor outside the dressing room during training.

“Scan results have confirmed that Crawley has jarred his right wrist, which has sprained the joint and led to local inflammation,” the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement.

The England medical team will assess his progress over the next few weeks, it added.

“It’s really frustrating and frustrating for Zak in particular,” Joe Root, the England captain, told reporters.

“It was a freak accident and hope it’s the last one,” he said.

Root did not say who would replace the Kent batsman, who hit 267 for his maiden Test century against Pakistan at Southampton in August.

England (Playing XI): Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Daniel Lawrence, Joe Root(c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler(w), Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, James Anderson

(With AFP inputs)

The first Test starts at 9.30 am on Friday and will be broadcast on Star Sports in India.