Ahead of the Test series between India and England, The Cricketer considers who would make a combined XI between the two sides
Owing to the depth of batting talent shared by England and India, only one of the host’s opening batters earns a spot in this combined XI.
Shubman Gill impressed on debut in Australia, scoring two half-centuries, but is only three matches into his Test career. Mayank Agarwal, meanwhile, has a career Test average of 45.73 and averages a whopping 99.5 from five matches on home soil but performed poorly Down Under.
So, we arrive at Sharma. Six centuries in India at an average of 88.33, a career average of 45.4 and 17 more caps than Gill and Agarwal combined. On this occasion, experience gets the nod.
The wall himself. A veteran of 81 Tests with an average of 47.74, Pujara played himself into form in Australia with three half-centuries in his last four innings.
When these sides last met in 2016, Pujara was the third highest run scorer of the series, scoring centuries in Rajkot and Visakhapatnam on his way to 401 runs at 50.12. The only English player to score more runs than Pujara on that occasion is the same man who is occupying his favoured number three berth in this XI.
Root made his debut in Nagpur, his 50th appearance in Vizag and the stars have aligned for his milestone 100th Test to take place in Chennai.
He sure loves playing in India. The 30-year old has five half-centuries, a top score of 124 and averages 53.09 in the country and comes into the series having scored 50+ in four of his last six away innings. Expect fireworks and a smattering of useful spin overs.
Joe Root (L) and Cheteshwar Pujara (R) scored a combined 892 runs when these two sides last met in India in 2016
The only justification necessary here is why he gets to bat at number four instead of Root. Well, Kohli has played 65 of his 87 Tests in this position, averaging 59.22 (six runs above his career average) and scoring 23 of 27 centuries. Additionally, against England in 2016, he scored a series leading 655 runs (including a huge knock of 235 in Mumbai) to boost his home average to 77.66 in his favoured position.
Kohli will be looking to return to the side with a bang and it's just unfortunate for England that they're the team stood in his way.
Rahane walks into this side after nursing his wounded squad to an unlikely victory in Australia. Aside from his obvious leadership qualities, the 32-year old has a Test average of 42.58 and the most Test catches (87) by an active non-wicketkeeper in the India squad. An experienced middle-order head in case of emergency.
In India in 2016 Stokes took eight wickets at 44.62 and scored 345 runs. At home in 2018, another 14 wickets at 29.14 and 200 runs. But neither the 2016 nor the 2018 model is the player that currently tops the ICC Test all-rounder rankings.
Stokes is a complete 360 degree batsman while his penchant for reverse swing makes him a potential matchwinner in Indian conditions. An automatic pick.
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The most difficult decision in the XI. Pant and Jos Buttler are on equal footing as wicketkeepers – vulnerable facing spin but, on the whole, solid – so this really came down to batting.
Buttler is in stunning form with the bat, averaging 41.86 since the start of 2020, and contributed a useful 154 runs in 2016. However, Pant averages 43.52 in 16 Test matches and has a first-class average above 50, indicating high scoring capabilities on home soil. He’s also a left-hander which is an added bonus in a right-hand dominated line-up.
Sitting at number eight on the ICC Test bowling table, Ashwin is currently the highest ranked spinner in the world. If this isn't enough to justify his selection, the 34-year old also loves playing in India, taking 254 of his 377 career wickets at 22.8 on home soil.
He was destructive when England last visited in 2016, taking a series-leading 28 wickets (including Ben Stokes on five occasions) and chipped in with 306 runs with the bat. A huge player.
A surprise inclusion, especially when you remember he hasn’t played any first-class cricket since 2019. However, in the absence of Ravidra Jadeja (thumb) and lacking an experienced left-arm spinner to mimic the Ashwin-Jadeja partnership, Moeen is the best option.
He is a better batsman than Jack Leach or Kuldeep Yadav, especially in India where he averages 42.33, and proven at Test level unlike Axar Patel. Naturally, there are concerns about his consistency but bowling as part of a spin duo would ease the burden on Moeen and hopefully allow his natural talent to re-emerge. A huge punt, but if it pays off you have a match-winning all-rounder in your XI.
Ravi Ashwin, celebrating a wicket against Australia, has taken 56 wickets in 15 appearances against England
If this series was in England, Jimmy Anderson would’ve been the first name in the XI – and he came close to stealing this position based on his 12 wickets in India in 2012. It’s also hard to overlook Ishant Sharma who is just three wickets away from becoming the third Indian fast bowler to take 300 wickets and two away from 100 wickets on home soil.
However, despite never playing a red-ball fixture in India, Archer has the potential to be a huge bowler in this series. Given the new ball, Archer’s bowling will unsettle any top order and set a great platform for the spinners to build on.
India’s seam maestro. Less than stellar with the bat but near unstoppable with the ball. Ranked number nine in the Test rankings, he’s taken five five-wicket hauls on his way to 79 wickets in just 17 appearances and has a sub-26 bowling average everywhere except New Zealand.
This is his first Test series on home soil and the perfect chance to show the world what his 90mph rockets can do in the land of the spinners.
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