England’s approach to the India series and Test cricket this year

England start a nine-Test battle with India this coming Friday, with the first of a four-Test series starting in Chennai.

The sides will do battle later in the year in a five-Test series in England.

English selectors have chosen the following squad:

Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone and Chris Woakes.

The reserves are James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson and Amar Virdi.

There are three notable absentees. Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Sam Curran were all “excused” from this tour. On top of that, Jos Buttler is only playing the first Test, then Ben Foakes takes over for the remaining Tests.

I was looking to see who made the England squad, primarily to get a feel for who was likely to be on the plane later in the year for the Ashes. That three guys who I assumed would be on this tour were left out came as a real surprise.

It seems England coach Chris Silverwood has come up with a different approach and is using a squad rotation policy.

The logic is simple. The England brain trust are concerned about the impact of the restrictions being forced on their players as a result of their packed cricket schedule and the biosecurity restrictions they have to endure.

England has a lot of Test cricket this year, with a series just finished against Sri Lanka, the nine Tests against India and another couple against New Zealand before travelling Down Under.

It’s safe to assume many players will be feeling it by the time the first Ashes Test starts, bearing in mind there’s also the T20 World Cup for some to play in October/November.

Silverwood’s plan appears to make very good sense, but it seems some are questioning this approach, given several players who have been rested from Test duty, including Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran and Jos Buttler, all had IPL contracts in 2020 and will be presumably playing in the 2021 IPL.

(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

At the end of the day, whether this is the right approach will only be known once the Test team plays. Presumably, they’ve chosen a squad they believe will do well in India with Ali, Bess and Leach all vying for one or more bowling spots. Those players left out will no doubt be in the running for a return to the side when India tours England.

India on the other hand, have chosen pretty much the same squad we saw in Australia:

Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Ravi Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.

Only Prithvi Shaw appears to have been dropped based on form, while others like Ravindra Jadeja and Umesh Yadav are injured. This is a good, all-round squad and is obviously strengthened considerably by Kohli’s return as well as Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandiya.

The series in India will be really interesting for a number of reasons.

(Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

England on paper seems to have a lot of guys who are Test-ready. All of their 16-man squad have played Tests, as have some of their reserves. Throw in Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Mark Wood, there are more than 20 players for their selectors to choose from. The question will be about the overall quality. Are all these players genuine Test quality or not quite?

England will have a lot of young batting talent facing a great Indian attack. If they can make runs, that could signal a renaissance in English Test cricket. They have a strong attack, especially in England, so they’ll be hoping Sibley, Crawley and Ollie Pope, in particular, continue to develop.

The English team will also not be settled, with at least one change between the first and second Tests already. It will be a good examination of Root’s ability to meld players into an effective unit, capable of challenging a very strong Indian team. It will also be interesting to see if players are rested during the series.

England has been riding something of a wave since Silverwood took over the coaching role after the last Ashes series. They’ve played five Test series and won four of them, beating both South Africa and Sri Lanka away, something Australia has not done in recent times. A drawn series in India or even a win would be huge for their confidence.

The spinners battle will be intriguing, both to see how well the England spinners do against such good players in home conditions, but also to see who is likely to come to Australia. Bess and; Leach are the front runners, given Moeen Ali’s previous performance in Australia, but right now there doesn’t appear to be much separating the pair.

This will also be Jasprit Bumrah’s first home Test series. Granted he’s only played 17 Tests, but to have not played a home Test by now is pretty amazing. He’s done outstandingly well away from India, so it will be interesting to see how he goes at home.

This is a Test series which should be watched closely, especially England’s batsmen. The majority of the England squad, plus the three rested players, will be coming to Australia in nine months. Results in recent times suggest this is a team that is well-led and has plenty of players willing to work hard to get a result.

Even if England loses this series, as many are predicting, if there’s improvement in their batting, which is the weakest element of their game, we could be in for an outstanding Test series next Australian summer.