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The five-match Test assignment between India and England will begin from June 20 with the first Test set to be held at Headingley in Leeds. The series will also mark the beginning of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle so it will be quite important for both the sides.
Jasprit Bumrah won't be playing in all the five Tests against England
Ahead of the much-awaited series, India head coach Gautam Gambhir had announced that star pacer Jasprit Bumrah will only play three out of the five Tests due to his fitness issues. In Bumrah's absence, the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Akash Deep will have the oppotunity to emerge as the Men in Blue's frontline pacer.
With the first Test beckoning, former India bowling coach Bharat Arun believes that Siraj in particular will have to take on a more defining role when he takes the field against England.
"Nothing like experience. I'm sure he must have learned a lot from that experience. Bringing that experience to the fore would help him understand those conditions better. Also, the way he is bowling in the IPL, I looked at his rhythm and he was getting exceptional rhythm. So I would say this would probably be an opportunity for Siraj to become a frontline bowler alongside Bumrah," Arun told IANS.
"Siraj, as I said, with his experience, he is smart. All these years of playing cricket regularly has given him the right kind of exposure. So he's smart and the way he is bowling right now, he has learnt from his mistakes. I think the more mistakes you make, the better you start, and you become better. He has come out of his comfort zone, gone back to the drawing board, and has kind of managed a few things which he has come out successfully. I think Siraj is all very well prepared to manage that," he added.
Arun also feels that Arshdeep has the edge over other pace options to become India's third fast-bowling option. The former bowling coach believes that Arshdeep's ability to swing the ball both ways makes him a better candidate than Krishna.
"Well, I think Prasidh, Akash, Arshdeep, all have the potential. I would think Arshdeep has the edge over Prasidh right now, according to me, because being a left-hander and also somebody who can move the ball both ways, Arshdeep to me, edges ahead of Prasidh Krishna at the moment," Arun added.
Notably, this is Arshdeep's maiden Test call-up. The left-arm pacer has previously featured for India in 63 T20Is and 9 ODIs but is yet to make his Test debut. It will be interesting to see if he gets a chance over other seamers who are present in India's 19-member squad for the series and have all previously featured in the format for the team.
India squad for England Tests: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.
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