India take on England in the third Test, a pink ball day/night Test, of the four-match series at Motera in Ahemdabad from February 24. Here are some insights for the India v England Dream11 fantasy.
India v England: Fantasy Pointers
- Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are the three highest run-scorers for India in home Tests since 2018 from the ones likely t0 play in the starting 11.
- Rishabh Pant already has four half-centuries in the six innings he has played at home since 2018.
- India’s day/night Test experience extends to just one pink ball game in 2019, but it’s worth noting Ishant Sharma (and Umesh Yadav) took a five-wicket haul and Virat Kohli made a century then.
- Openers from either side struggled in the pink ball Test previously played in India and on a new wicket at a new stadium against the pink ball, it’s wise to stay away from picking openers for your team.
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India v England Predicted XI
India: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav/Mohammed Siraj
England: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Dom Bess, Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, James Anderson
India v England Dream11 Team
Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant, Ben Foakes
Batsmen: Joe Root, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill
All-rounders: Ben Stokes, R Ashwin, Axar Patel
Bowlers: Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav
Major Fantasy choices
James Anderson or Jofra Archer
James Anderson was really good in Chennai on a fifth day wicket, and armed with a pink ball could be extremely dangerous, but Jofra Archer isn’t a huge step down and given that he comes at 0.5 credits cheaper, Archer over Anderson makes sense to better balance the rest of the line-up.
Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill
With the pink ball expected to favour bowlers more, it’s ideal to go with the extra bowler or all-round option Axar Patel offers. As such, there’s less room for the extra batsman and with Virat Kohli and Joe Root sure-shot picks, you might have to choose between Gill and Rohit. While Rohit was brilliant in Chennai, there are still question marks on his effectiveness against the moving ball, whereas Gill looks ready to play a big one after quite a few starts.
