India vs England 1st Test Live Score: Hello and welcome to live coverage of IND vs ENG 1st Test match. The first Test match of the five-match IND vs ENG Test Series is set to unfold today at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. IND vs ENG 1st Test is scheduled to begin at 9:30 am IST onwards, promising a day of thrilling cricket action.

Notably, Indian batting legend Virat Kohli will be absent from both the first and second test. The absence of Kohli opens up the opportunity for other players to make their mark, and there might be a few other selection calls by the team management. KL Rahul is speculated to step into the middle-order, serving as a direct replacement for Kohli.

It has already been confirmed by the team management that Rahul won't be keeping wickets for the entire IND vs ENG Test Series. The competition for the vacant wicket-keeper spot in the squad is heating up between KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel. Both are specialist wicket-keepers, but Bharat seems to have the edge in the race, primarily due to his experience and recent impressive performance against England Lions for India A, where he scored a century.

With Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as automatic choices, selecting the third spinner for the squad appears to be a relatively straightforward decision, with Axar Patel being a strong contender due to his valuable all-round abilities.

Ben Stokes-led England too have included three spinners in their playing 11, signaling their strategic assessment of the spin-friendly conditions in Hyderabad.

IND vs ENG 1st Test - Probable Playing 11s

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, (c) Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed, Mark Wood, Jack Leach

17:03 PM (IST) • 26 Jan 2024