IND vs ENG: KS Bharat retains wicket, no fast bowlers will play all five Test matches; Report

The first of five Tests starts on January 25 in Hyderabad and the final match in the series starts on March 7 in Dharamsala.

New Delhi: KS Bharat is likely to keep wickets against England in the upcoming Test series and KL Rahul will play as a batsman and fielder. Team India will prepare the gymnastics track for England so that the specialist spinners can do the job at home, reports Indian Express.

In the recently concluded Test series against South Africa, KL Rahul kept wickets due to his experience on bouncers in South Africa. The report also stated that no fast bowlers will play all five matches. BCCI will rest the pacers as per the workload management.

There is still no clarity on Mohammed Shami's fitness as the veteran speedster is yet to resume his bowling. In his absence, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah will be part of the Indian squad in the first two Test matches

“The Indian team will once again be playing on a gymnastics track and the team management felt that specialist spinners should do the job at home. The team has a lot of good spinners and the team will not take any chances, especially if the field on offer will be a turner,” a BCCI source told Indian Express.

The first of five Tests starts on January 25 in Hyderabad and the final match in the series starts on March 7 in Dharamsala. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav will lead the bowling attack on India's spin-friendly pitches, alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Indian selection: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj , Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Avesh Khan.