KL Rahul at No.4 in place of Kohli, Bharat over Jurel; Axar or Kuldeep? India's likely XI for 1st Test vs England

India Predicted XI vs 1st Test vs England: KL Rahul is likely to bat at No.4. The only tough choice is between Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.

Once Virat Kohli pulled out of the first two Tests against England due to personal reasons, it unofficially confirmed both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer's spot in the XI for the series opener in Hyderabad on Thursday. The only question was whether Rahul would keep to allow India to play an extra batter but head coach Rahul Dravid erased all doubts by announcing that Rahul has been relieved from keeping duties. Will it be KS Bharat or uncapped Dhruv Jurel with the gloves, then? Dravid didn't directly name a favourite but with what transpired in India's practice sessions, one didn't have to think hard to gauge who was the frontrunner.

KL Rahul will play as a specialist batter against England (AP)

Bharat is all set to make a comeback to the Test side for the first time since the World Test Championship final against Australia last year. In his five outings, the man from Andhra Pradesh hasn't done anything with the bat - an average of 18 with a highest score of 44 - that pushes his case for selection. But his superior glovework makes all the difference, especially when playing in India, where standing up to Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel is considered to be tougher than facing them with a bat in hand.

Bharat as keeper

Rahul had nothing wrong in South Africa. Already an established keeper in ODIs, Rahul hit a sparkling century in the Centurion Test in his maiden attempt as a specialist keeper. He was tidy behind the gloves and was very good with the DRS calls. His only noticeable blip came during the second innings of the Cape Town Test when he dropped Aiden Markram. There was every reason for him to start ahead of Bharat and Jurel against England.

But keeping in India is an entirely different proposition. The ball kicks and bites off the surface regularly and at times shoots low to shine high. The team management clearly didn't want Rahul to take all that burden, especially when he had to be a lynchpin in the middle-order in Kohli's absence.

Rahul at No.4

India had the choice of giving the Test cap to Rajat Patidar. The 30-year-old was added to the squad as Kohli's replacement. But with Jadeja and Ashwin being accomplished batters in home conditions, the management didn't feel the need to play an extra batter.

But who will bat at No.4? Captain Rohit Sharma and young Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the batting and Shubman Gill will slot in at No.3 despite his not-so-impressive returns in the last few matches. With Kohli not there, the choice for No.4 is between Rahul and Iyer. The former should get the nod because of his experience. Iyer, a better player of spin, can be the aggressor at No.5.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami pick themselves as the two frontline seamers in the absence of Mohammed Shami. So do Jadeja and Ashwin. The only discussion will be whether to go with Axar's finger spin or Kuldeep Yadav's wrist spin.

Kuldeep adds more variety to the attack. Axar and Jadeja are similar in nature but the tall Gujarat man adds depth to the batting. His contributions at No.9 have been invaluable in the last couple of years. And if the Hyderabad pitch offers variable bounce then he would be better suited to exploit that with his high-arm action. The last time England toured India, Axar picked up more than 30 wickets in three matches.

India's Predicted XI for first Test against England

Top-order: Rohit Sharma ©, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill

Middle-order: KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer

Wicketkeeper: KS Bharat

All-rounders/spinners: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel

Pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.