India Vs England 1st Test: India Likely To Play With Three Spinners At Chepauk In First Test, Tough Choice Between Ishant And Siraj

From having very less options in the Australia series to having many in the English one, team India’s management have a tough job to do.

R Ashwin will lead the spin bowling department on a dry pitch in Chennai. (Source: Getty Images)

India vs England is just a couple of days away from beginning at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. From playing on the bouncy and hard pitches in Australia, the Indian team is back on home-territory in Chennai. The Chepauk pitch has historically been dry and helped the spinners, looks like it won’t be any different this time around. "The pitch is a typical Chepauk wicket. No English feel or anything. In this humidity, you need to have grass on the wicket so that it doesn't break up that easily. This wicket will help spinners as it always has been the case," a BCCI source told the PTI on the condition of anonymity.

Thus, it looks like India could go in with three spinners and two fast bowlers in the team. With having all-rounder spinners like Ashwin and Washington Sundar in the team, it won’t be difficult for Kohli to pick a team with five bowlers.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India vs England: Team Announced! Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma Make Return <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#TeamIndia</a> <br><br>Check Entire Squad Here: <a href="https://t.co/vepud3SNHK" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/vepud3SNHK</a> <a href="https://t.co/ECkKtQNL8Q" rel='nofollow'>pic.twitter.com/ECkKtQNL8Q</a></p>&mdash; ABP News (@ABPNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABPNews/status/1351541017187545089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jasprit Bumrah is the first choice in the fast-bowling department and looks like his inclusion in the team is a no-brainer. But it will be a tough choice between in-form Mohammed Siraj and experienced Ishant Sharma. Former Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan, in an interview to Dainik Jagran said: “If Ishant Sharma is fit, completely ready then I think he should be in the team from the very first match. He has been doing very well for the Indian team for many years.”

The presumed bowling line-up for India would be – Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma/Mohammed Siraj.