BENGALURU: When India’s fifth Test match against England at Old Trafford was cancelled last September, India were leading the series 2-1. They return to complete the series with a one-off Test match but in the intervening nine months there have been a lot of changes.
India have a new coach in Rahul Dravid, while Rohit Sharma has replaced Virat Kohli as the skipper. The home team too has gone through a transformation. Led by new skipper Ben Stokes, they have just won two Test matches against New Zealand. Having sealed the series, they play the last fixture starting on Thursday before heading to Edgbaston, where they take on India from July 1.
The form of Stokes and Co. is not lost on Dravid, who left for England in the early hours of Monday after the T20 series against South Africa.
“In terms of the Test match, it’s going to be exciting for us. It is just a one-off Test match, but WTC points and series are on the line and guys who played a part in it will want to do well and are looking forward to that. England are playing well at the moment and it is going to be a bit different from last year when England were probably a little bit on the backfoot.
“They have played some good games and we have a pretty good side as well. Hopefully, we will have a good match,” Dravid pointed out.
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In Pics – Mission England: Team India begins preparations for rescheduled fifth Test
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<p>Key players of the India Test squad including former India captain Virat Kohli began training for the rescheduled fifth Test against England, that will commence from July 1 in Birmingham. (Photo credit: BCCI Twitter)</p>
<p>The squad is currently in London and started prepping for the Test and white-ball series against England. The rescheduled fifth Test will be followed by 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs. (Photo credit: BCCI Twitter)</p>
<p>The Indian cricket board and the players shared photos of their first training session at Lord’s. Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, all-rounders Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja, pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were all not involved in the ongoing South Africa series. (Photo credit: Cheteshwar Pujara Twitter)</p>
<p>Team India will play a couple of warm-up matches against Leicestershire and Derbyshire before the fifth Test against England. India currently lead the unfinished Test series 2-1. (Photo credit: Virat Kohli Twitter)</p>
<p>Earlier, on Thursday, players left for England after assembling in Mumbai. Skipper Rohit Sharma along with those involved in the South Africa series are expected to leave for England in the coming days.</p>
<p>India opener KL Rahul will miss the tour of England as he is expected to fly to Germany for the treatment of his groin injury. Earlier, the injury resulted in Rahul being ruled out of India’s ongoing T20I series against South Africa. (PTI photo)</p>
Dravid returns to the country where he made his Test debut in 1996 for the first time as the senior team coach. The former India skipper said he was looking forward to the contest.
“It is always lovely to play Test matches in England. The crowd is going to be fantastic and they are good when you play Test cricket there. I loved playing Test cricket (in England). I love coaching in Test cricket and look forward to it,” the 49-year-old said.
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