After the completion of the limited-overs series, the hosts England and the visitors India will take the challenge in the five-match long Test series. The first Test will begin on Wednesday (August 1) at Edgbaston (Birmingham).

It will be England’s 1000th Test match, the first team to achieve this feat. The hosts are desperate to make it memorable with a solid victory while the visitors India are keen to destroy their opponent in this big moment.

Also read: Eng vs Ind (1st Test): Predicted XI Of India For The Birmingham Test

It is the fight between the no.1 Test ranked team India and the no.5 Test ranked team England. However, England has a good advantage as they will play in their home venues, but India is also very desperate to prove themselves in this unfamiliar condition. India has never won at Edgbaston while they have played six Tests against England at this venue and lost in five Tests (drawn only once).

While the Indian batting line-up is almost set-up for the Test series, the only main question is who will be included in the playing XI as an opening partner of Murali Vijay, struggling Shikhar Dhawan or in-form KL Rahul.

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India will miss their two important pacers in the first Test as the pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not in the squad for the first three Tests, while Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be missed the first Test as he needs more time to get full fitness.

However, India still has enough replacement as the pacers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav are very experienced to handle any tough situations.

Also read: India tour of England 2018 (Test series) – First Test: Stats Preview

Indian skipper Virat Kohli will have to take another tough call during choosing the spin bowling line-up. Apart from the two experienced spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is also in the squad who impressed in the recent limited-overs matches in this tour. However, many experts are supporting Kuldeep Yadav over the two experienced spinners.

Meanwhile, with the return of the two experienced lethal pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad, England bowling line-up seems stronger and dangerous. In the addition, the spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid have performed well in the recent limited-overs series.

English Test skipper Joe Root has recently returned in-form for which England is becoming the more dangerous side. Further, most of England’s regular batsmen are in-form while the all-rounder Ben Stokes is making the side well-balanced.

Full Test Squads:

England: Joe Root (c), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jamie Porter, Sam Curran, James Anderson, Stuart Broad.

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.