REVEALED! Reason why Avesh Khan has been released from the Indian Test squad

Avesh Khan has been released so he can play Ranji Trophy, where Madhya Pradesh will take on Puddicherry on Friday.

Hyderabad: In what would be a welcome move by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), pace bowler Avesh Khan has been released. He has been released so that he can play Ranji Trophy, where Madhya Pradesh will take on Puddicherry on Friday. While he has been released, Rajat Patidar has been added to the squad as a replacement for Virat Kohli, who will miss the first two matches due to 'personal reasons'.

Meanwhile, England won the toss in the first Test in Hyderabad and opted to bat first.

“It's typical conditions in India, you're not quite sure what you're going to get. We will try to put a big score on the board. The preparation has been really good. We know the challenge that India poses, not just for us, but for every team that comes here. They are an incredibly successful side. We have Hartley making his debut, Rehan playing his second Test, but they have a great leader in Jack Leach to lead them. I have complete confidence in everyone. We picked an XI that we thought would give us the best chance of winning. Woody is that X-factor bowler,” Stokes said after winning the toss.

“We have played under these conditions before. We know what to expect and what to do. It's all about executing your skills, backing yourself and being brave enough to take the opportunity. We have three spinners and two seamers: Bumrah, Siraj, Axar, Ashwin and Jadeja. It was a tough task (leaving Kuldeep Yadav aside), we thought about it a lot. Axar, every time he has played he has done well and bats very well in these conditions. The last time we played against Australia he got a really good score. Probably the reason we went with Axar,” Rohit said at the toss.

Teams:
India (playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

England (playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach