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The opening week of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle brings with it one of the most high-profile contests on the calendar. India have arrived on English shores for a five-match Test series. While these two sides have clashed countless times over the years, this series carries a fresh identity. Traditionally played for the Pataudi Trophy, this series will now be contested for the newly-named Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, honouring two modern greats who have left an indelible mark on the game, one with the bat and the other with the ball. The series opener will be played at Headingley in Leeds, before the caravan moves to Birmingham, London, Manchester, and finally back to London. Starting with England, over the past three WTC cycles, they have not reached the final even once. The path this time is anything but straightforward, with a marquee home series against India followed by an away Ashes tour in Australia later in the year. With Ben Stokes at the helm, the squad named by the hosts is largely on expected lines. While Stuart Broad retired in 2023, James Anderson called time on his illustrious Test career last summer. Their absence does not necessarily leave the hosts with an inexperienced bowling attack, but it is fair to say they have fielded more seasoned units in the past.
As they often do, England have announced their playing XI in advance. It features the return of Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse from injury, both of whom missed the one-off Test against Zimbabwe last month. Gus Atkinson has been ruled out due to a hamstring strain, and that has opened the door for Josh Tongue, who has only three Tests to his name, to take up the role of the third seamer. Shoaib Bashir will lead the spin department as the lone specialist, while Joe Root provides a part-time option. Ben Stokes is expected to offer the fourth seam option if needed. The batting lineup is also quite settled, with the dynamic opening pair of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley at the top. Jacob Bethell has not been included despite an impressive start to his Test career, and although there was speculation about Bethell potentially playing ahead of Ollie Pope, the latter has retained his place. The rest of the lineup picks itself, featuring the master-apprentice Yorkshire pairing of Joe Root and Harry Brook, followed by Stokes and the wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith. Turning to India, they played in two successive WTC finals but endured heartbreak on both occasions. They looked well on course for a third straight final but stumbled in their last two assignments, eventually missing out. The start of a new cycle also marks the dawn of a new era in Indian cricket, with Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli having retired from the longest format. Shubman Gill has been named the new Test captain and will lead a squad that blends youth and experience. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who forged a solid opening partnership in Australia, are likely to continue at the top. With Kohli’s departure creating a vacancy at number four, there was plenty of speculation about who would step into the role.
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As they often do, England have announced their playing XI in advance. It features the return of Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse from injury, both of whom missed the one-off Test against Zimbabwe last month. Gus Atkinson has been ruled out due to a hamstring strain, and that has opened the door for Josh Tongue, who has only three Tests to his name, to take up the role of the third seamer. Shoaib Bashir will lead the spin department as the lone specialist, while Joe Root provides a part-time option. Ben Stokes is expected to offer the fourth seam option if needed. The batting lineup is also quite settled, with the dynamic opening pair of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley at the top. Jacob Bethell has not been included despite an impressive start to his Test career, and although there was speculation about Bethell potentially playing ahead of Ollie Pope, the latter has retained his place. The rest of the lineup picks itself, featuring the master-apprentice Yorkshire pairing of Joe Root and Harry Brook, followed by Stokes and the wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith. Turning to India, they played in two successive WTC finals but endured heartbreak on both occasions. They looked well on course for a third straight final but stumbled in their last two assignments, eventually missing out. The start of a new cycle also marks the dawn of a new era in Indian cricket, with Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli having retired from the longest format. Shubman Gill has been named the new Test captain and will lead a squad that blends youth and experience. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who forged a solid opening partnership in Australia, are likely to continue at the top. With Kohli’s departure creating a vacancy at number four, there was plenty of speculation about who would step into the role.
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All posters, please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staff, etc.
2. No making fun of players', officials', or coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media, or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion, as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can
be added.
.
