Hardik Pandya to make debut?

India are most likely to go in with three spinners and two seamers against England in the first Test as the pitch looks dry and may help the spinners in the latter half of the game. Unlike the majority of Rajkot tracks which are generally dead pans and full of runs, this one looks a little different

Hardik Pandya

Rajkot: India are most likely to go in with three spinners and two seamers against England in the first Test as the pitch looks dry and may help the spinners in the latter half of the game. Unlike the majority of Rajkot tracks which are generally dead pans and full of runs, this one looks a little different.

Pandits reckon this pitch may not go the distance, but if local curators and Saurashtra Cricket Association officials are to be believed, they have made a result-oriented wicket.

Though all seamers — Mohd Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Hardik Pandya — looked fit and raring to go, the buzz is that Pandya will share the new ball with Shami and not Ishant or Yadav. With no Rohit Sharma in the team, this might be a good move given that Pandya is a decent bat too and India hence will have the luxury of playing five bowlers.

As far as the England side is concerned, Alastair Cook confirmed that Haseeb Hameed will make his Test debut while Ben Duckett will drop down the order to number four. Gary Ballance will sit out.

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