India’s playing XI for the first Test match against England is as good as final after Virat Kohli opted out of the first two games.

India named a 16-member squad for the first two Tests of the five-match series against England, starting January 25. They had to leave out the injured Mohammed Shami, while neither Umesh Yadav nor Jaydev Unadkat was considered.

At the same time, two uncapped cricketers – Madhya Pradesh fast bowler Avesh Khan and Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel – got breaks. Kohli has now opted out of the first two matches.

Kohli looked in great form in South Africa, making 38, 76, 46, and 12 in a very low-scoring series. While India will miss him, his absence will make selecting the XI for the first Test easier.

Who were the certainties for the first Test match?

India have gone in with three spinners, two fast bowlers, and five batters for home Test matches for some time now, and there was no reason for them to change that team structure.

R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja would have been the first two names on the team sheet, while vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are the two most obvious choices as speedsters.

Curiously, among the batters, captain Rohit Sharma and, when he was available, Kohli, were the only certainties. The confusion was for a string of reasons.

India had to pick four out of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and a wicketkeeper – KS Bharat or Jurel. Since Rahul kept wicket in South Africa, there was also a possibility of him reprising that role. That way, India could have fitted in all four batters.

However, India might have preferred Bharat’s years of experience behind the stumps in Indian conditions. Last week, the Andhra man helped his own cause with an unbeaten fourth-innings hundred for India A against the England Lions. Jurel – more of a keeper than Rahul, and more of a batter than Bharat – could have been a middle-ground option.

Had they done that, India would have had to pick three of the four batters. With a magnificent hundred two Test matches ago, Rahul would likely have played, as, surely, would have Iyer, who thrives against spin.

Between Gill, who has done little of note at home, and Jaiswal, who is yet to play a Test match here, India were likely to have backed the latter, more so because he is a left-hander. Rahul, a specialist opener, would have moved up the order either way.

Had they played Bharat, Axar Patel’s superior batting abilities would have almost certainly guaranteed him a spot ahead of Kuldeep Yadav. Less likely was India playing four bowlers, but it would have allowed them to play all the batters and a specialist keeper.

What will be India’s XI for the first Test now?

Kohli’s withdrawal will allow India to pick all four of Jaiswal, Gill, Iyer, and Rahul. That also makes Bharat a certainty and, in turn, Axar. It is unlikely that any of Jurel, Avesh, Kuldeep, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep, or Kohli’s yet-to-be-named replacement will make it to the XI.

India’s likely XI for the first Test against England: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

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