Adil Rashid has been preferred to Moeen Ali in England’s XI for the first Test v India at Edgbaston, Joe Root has revealed.
England had been expected to field two spinners but conditions in Birmingham have not turned out to be any more spin-friendly than usual, and despite his recent good form England remain unwilling to pick Moeen as a lone spinner.
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On Rashid’s inclusion, Root said: “With the amount of right handers in India’s team, Rashid gives us a really attacking spinning option and he’s in confident form.
“He’s gone about his business just as he does in the one-day side, he doesn’t seem affected at all.
“I’ve known Adil for a long time. I think he’s grown as a player massively in the last couple of years, he has a better understanding of what he wants to do.”
The England captain also said that Surrey left-armer Sam Curran has been selected ahead of Essex seamer Jamie Porter.
England team to face India
Alastair Cook
Keaton Jennings
Joe Root (c)
Dawid Malan
Jonny Bairstow (wk)
Ben Stokes
Jos Buttler
Sam Curran
Adil Rashid
Stuart Broad
James Anderson
In addition, Root announced that Jos Buttler has been named as England’s vice-captain for the five-match series.
“Jos is vice-captain of the white-ball side, thinks hugely about the game and is respected in the dressing room,” Root said.
“We are thinking about the long-term and Jos is a big part of that.”
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Buttler, 27, is already vice-captain for England’s ODI side. He was recalled to the Test squad at the start of the summer for the series against Pakistan and scored two half-centuries in three innings.
