Adil Rashid is set to play his first Test since 2016 as England confirmed their playing XI to take on India in the series opener at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
The leg-spinner’s recall to the Test squad was a controversial one with former England skippers Michael Vaughan and Geoffrey Boycott questioning the logic behind it .But Rashid, who has been on a self-imposed exile from red-ball cricket with Yorkshire since the start of the year, is included as the lone spinner in the final squad with Moeen Ali missing out.
There was a surprise in England’s pace line-up with Sam Curran being favoured ahead of Essex’s Jamie Porter who misses out on a Test debut. This will be 20-year-old Curran’s second Test for England after his debut against Pakistan earlier this summer which yielded him a total of two wickets.
We have named our team for the first Test - and news of a new vice-captain!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 31, 2018
➡️ https://t.co/c7PaMxMnyh#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/idO5ahrRB3
Keaton Jennings will continue to open the innings with Alastair Cook while Dawid Malan keeps his place in the middle-order. All-rounder Ben Stokes has also been deemed fit enough to play at Edgbaston. Jos Buttler continues his remarkable resurgence with the wicket-keeper batsman being elevated to vice-captaincy duties for the first time in his England Test career.
ENGLAND XI
Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (c), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
