England's predicted playing XI for the 1st Test vs India

Bowlers: Dom Bess, Jofra Archer, Jimmy Anderson, Jack Leach

Jimmy Anderson will be ready for what will probably be his last tour of India

England's spin duo of Dom Bess and Jack Leach picked up a pile of wickets against Sri Lanka, but that was more down to poor shot selection than their own ability with the ball. Both finger spinners are relatively inexperienced at the international level, and are a far cry from the Graeme Swanns and Monty Panesars England have fielded in the past.

However, with assistance from the pitch expected, they'll only need to pitch the ball in the right areas. On their first tour of India, they'll want to make the most of the conditions at their disposal and put in a few match-winning performances.

England playing two spinners along with Moeen Ali means that they might have room for only two pacers apart from Ben Stokes. Stuart Broad, who's placed at #2 in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings, might be the sacrificial lamb in this case.

Jimmy Anderson is still the leader of the pace attack, and showed that he still has a lot left in the tank with a 6-wicket haul against Sri Lanka on a flat deck in sweltering heat. Jofra Archer, on the other hand, has the extra pace and the X-factor to trouble the Indian batsmen.

As a result, due to no fault of his own, Broad might find himself out of the XI. England made the exact same decision against Pakistan when international cricket resumed post the pandemic-enforced break, and the speedster made them regret their decision.

But that game was at home, where England played three seamers and still didn't pick Broad. In subcontinental conditions, it might be a different story. If Root does want to call upon the services of his country's second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, either Archer or Ali could be dropped.

Chris Woakes will be a solid backup option on the bench.