Did Sudharsan Make an Impact in His Test Debut as England Opted to Bowl First Against India at Headingley?

Leeds, June 20 (NationPress) India has given B Sai Sudharsan the opportunity to debut in Test cricket as England won the toss and chose to bowl first in the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Headingley on Friday. This five-match series also signifies the commencement of a new World Test Championship cycle for both nations.

Sudharsan, who plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket, has experience in the County Championship with Surrey. His Test debut on June 20 coincides with the entries of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly (both in 1996), and Virat Kohli (in 2011) into the longer format for India.

He becomes the 317th men’s Test cricketer from India and is set to bat at number three in Leeds. Sudharsan received his cap from Cheteshwar Pujara, who is in England serving as a commentator for the series. Karun Nair will bat at number six, marking a spectacular return to the Test team after a hiatus since March 2017.

Shardul Thakur is lined up to bat at number eight, in the seam-bowling all-rounder’s position, having been selected over Nitish Kumar Reddy. Prasidh Krishna joins Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the fast-bowling unit, while Ravindra Jadeja serves as the lone specialist spin-bowling all-rounder, resulting in Kuldeep Yadav not making the cut.

This match in Leeds also signifies Shubman Gill’s first appearance as India’s Test captain. "We'd have bowled first as well. It has been a dry summer, so although there may be some assistance in the first session, it’s expected to be a fantastic batting surface thereafter," he noted.

"The sun is shining; it appears to be a promising day for batting. Our preparations have been excellent, and the team is in a great mental and physical space," he added.

England captain Ben Stokes mentioned that the preparation for this critical series against India has been varied, but the team is now 'eager to go'. "Headingley generally provides a great cricket surface; we have had memorable matches here in the past and hope to capitalize on the early conditions," he stated.

"We are all excited and ready to commence. Our preparation has been a mix, to be honest. Several players have engaged in county cricket, but we have had a solid three days leading up to this Test match, and everyone is eager to start," he added.

Playing XIs

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicket-keeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, and Shoaib Bashir