India will start the fresh World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with the five-match Test series against England. The Indian squad for the tour is missing regular names, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who announced their retirements from the format ahead of the series. The England series will be a big Test for India and Shubman Gill, who was named the India captain, and they'll have to play out of their skin to win the series.

Picking the right playing XI will be key for India. They'll be tempted to play Sai Sudharsan, who had a stellar IPL, but Karun Nair has also done well, and accommodating both will be an issue. Similarly, India will have to get the bowling combination right to have a greater chance of success. Will Shardul Thakur and Nitish Reddy both get a shot in the XI, or will India go in with four specialist pacers?

Ahead of the first Test, former India cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar named his probable XI for the series opener. Bangar opted to go with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul as openers, followed by Abhimanyu Easwaran at three.

Bangar slotted Shubman Gill to bat at four, followed by Rishabh Pant and Karun Nair at five and six, respectively. Bangar made a surprise move and dropped Ravindra Jadeja from the XI. He backed Nitish Reddy as the lone all-rounder and Kuldeep Yadav as the specialist spinner. Bangar picked Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah as three pacers.

Sanjay Bangar's Probable Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.

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