India will begin the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 cycle with a stern five-match Test series against England. The Rohit Sharma-led side missed out on a historic feat after they failed to qualify for their third consecutive WTC final following defeats to New Zealand and Australia.

The England series is important, not just from the WTC perspective, but it could be make or break for many senior players who will be fighting to keep their Test careers alive. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja are under tremendous pressure to perform, and a bad series against England could mark an end to their illustrious career.

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have struggled with swinging balls outside off, and England is a nightmare for players who have trouble with deliveries outside off. Similarly, there won't be much help for Ravindra Jadeja as the conditions will favour the fast bowling.

Meanwhile, India have also reportedly decided against playing warm-up matches against county teams ahead of the England tour. According to a report in Cricbuzz, India will instead play an intra squad game against India A. The match will be played behind closed doors at the Beckenham, a facility managed by Kent County Cricket Club. There were discussions about broadcasting the intra squad game, however, India were keen to keep the game away from cameras to ensure a focused build-up to the series.

The report reveals that the practice game will be the only warm-up game India will play ahead of the first Test at Headingley from June 20.

India have not won a series in England since 2007. They came close to beating England in the 2021-2022 series when they took a 2-1 lead; however, suffered a defeat in the final Test as the series ended as a draw.

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