The news that Virat Kohli will miss the remaining three Tests due to personal reasons has given England a morale boost.
Kohli did not play in the first two Tests and on Friday informed the India board that he would not return for the remainder of the series, denying the presence of arguably the most charismatic and mercurial cricketer in the world when the competition resumes at 1 p.m. -1 at Rajkot next week.
No other explanation was made to the public regarding Kohli’s absence, apart from the statement made before the start of the series that he would not be available due to personal reasons. It will be the first time he will miss an entire home series since the start of his Test career.
India won the second match of the series thanks to Ollie Pope’s 196 and Tom Hartley scoring seven in the second innings. India bounced back with a win in the second match, set up by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s double century and complemented by Bumrah’s nine wickets in the match.
The third Test will begin next Thursday. England are currently in the UAE with their families and will fly to India on Monday to continue training, two days before the start of the third Test.
What is the full fixture list and schedule?
All times United Kingdom
1. Test: 25-29 January, Hyderabad – England win by 28 runs
2. Test: 2-6 February, Visakhapatnam – India win by 106 runs
3. Test: 15–19 February, Rajkot (start at 4am)
4. Test: 23-27 February, Ranchi (start at 4am)
5. Test: March 7–11, Dharamsala (start at 4am)
On which channel is the India-England match?
In the UK, TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) is showing the series after the deal was agreed just nine days before the first ball was bowled. Matches can also be watched on Discovery+. Commentary comes from the world broadcast featuring Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan.
Despite no studio presence in the first Test, for the rest of the series TNT Sports flew Alastair Cook and Steven Finn to Sweden to wake up early and be on screen. Studio host Kate Mason.
Live radio coverage is on Talksport 2, not BBC Test Match Special. Despite the BBC bidding for the rights, it was defeated by the commercial broadcaster. Talksport will broadcast the next leg of England’s tour of India primarily from London, with a significantly reduced squad in Rajkot and Ranchi.
Who is in the England squad?
England’s 16-man squad includes young and experienced players. Experienced players like Joe Root and James Anderson are joined by rookie spinners in Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley; Tom Hartley took nine wickets in the opening match. Harry Brook was allowed to return to the UK for personal reasons before the first Test even started. He could be selected later in the tour, but his place in the squad was taken by Dan Lawrence.
England’s 16-man squad for India
Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (goalkeeper), Shoaib Bashir, Harry BrookZak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood
Additional: DanLawrence
Who is in the India squad?
Besides Kohli, India also left out middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer in the last three Tests but named Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul in the squad. Jadeja (hamstring) and Rahul (thigh) missed India’s win in Vizag and will face fitness tests in Rajkot before a decision is made on their participation in that match.
Iyer made only scores of 35, 13, 27 and 29 in the first two Tests but excelled in the field, taking a crucial catch off Zak Crawley in the first innings in Vizag and striking out Ben Stokes on the final day. India expect Rahul to return in the middle-order and remain confident in Rajit Patidar, who made an assured debut in the second Test.
It is not yet known whether Jasprit Bumrah will play in Rajkot. India are expected to rest him in at least one of the next two Tests before a brief break before the final match of the series at Dharamshala. Seamer Akash Deep, who was the leading wicket-taker for the India A team in the last series against the Lions, has been called up to the Test squad for the first time.
India’s remaining Tests squad:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (wk), Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar , Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
What are the venues and stadiums for testing?
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium/Uppal Stadium
Location: hyderabad
Established: 2003
Capacity: 55,000
Dr YS Rajashekar Reddy ACA – VDCA Cricket Stadium
Location: visakhapatnam
Established: 2003
Capacity: 40,000
Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium/Khandheri Cricket Stadium
Location: rajkot
Established: 2009
Capacity: 28,000
Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium
Location: ranchi
Established: 2011
Capacity: 50,000
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium
Location: Dharamsala
Established: 2003
Capacity: 23,000
What are the latest Test results between the two teams?
India in England (2021)
August: The match was drawn
August: India won by 151 runs
August: England won by an innings and 76 runs
September: India won by 157 runs
July 2022 (match postponed due to Covid): England won by seven wickets
England in India (2021)
February: England won by 227 runs
February: India won by 317 runs
February: India won by 10 wickets
March: India won by an innings and 25 runs