The first toss of the Shubman Gill era of Indian Test cricket did not go the captain's way as his counterpart Ben Stokes called it right and opted to bowl in the first Test match at Headingley.
It has been the most common decision at the venue although conditions are bright and sunny at the moment, which should be encouraging news for the Indian side.
The big news from the visitors' camp is that Sai Sudharsan has made his Test debut, while Karun Nair has also been named in the playing XI. The debutant will slot in at the coveted no.3 spot, which was a hot topic of discussion leading up to the game.
Yesterday's net sessions saw Sudharsan doing little practice, although he was seen getting a handshake from head coach Gautam Gambhir. There was a mystery around whether he would play or not, and if this was a plan from Gambhir to keep the media and opposition guessing, it sure worked. Anybody observing India's net sessions yesterday would have felt that Sudharsan might probably not make it to the XI.
Nitish Reddy, who did a lot of bowling in the nets during the last two days, appeared set to start, more so after Gill had voiced his preference for an all-rounder in his earlier press conference. However, with Sudharsan locked, the other spot had to be no.6 for Nitish to sneak in but Karun was a sure starter, more so after his recent exploits in the tour game for India A and the intra-squad games. He was also seen practising actively in the nets, both for slip catching and as a batter.
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Shardul Thakur is the other player making a Test comeback, having last featured in 2023 against South Africa in Centurion. Thakur's inclusion along with the three frontline seamers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna means that India have just a lone spinner in Ravindra Jadeja. There was a possibility of drafting in Kuldeep Yadav as an attacking option but it would then lengthen India's lower order. Also, it is debatable whether this Headingley pitch needs a second spinner, although the hot weather does suggest that pitch could wear down considerably as the game progresses.
India XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk & vc), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
England XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir.