England vs India 2018: Likely Indian playing XI for Lord's Test

England v India: Specsavers 1st Test - Day Three

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin showed why he should be the first choice for a spinner in the playing eleven by taking seven wickets in the match. Ashwin was an improved spinner in the first Test match compared to the 2014 England tour. He bowled a little faster in the Edgbaston Test, as the wicket was slow. He also didn't try anything fancy and tried to maintain his line and length. He should be a certainty for the Lord's Test.

Kuldeep Yadav

India will be tempted to play two spinners in Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav in the Lord's Test, especially because of the dry weather prevailing in England currently. The hot weather and dry wicket should support spin bowling more than fast bowling. Kuldeep had a great stint against England in the recent T20s and ODIs as he tormented the home batsmen with his variations. Kuldeep's chances of playing in the eleven have been made even stronger as Umesh Yadav had an ordinary Test match at Edgbaston.

Although Umesh took three wickets in the match, he was largely inconsistent with his lines and lengths. Due to his inconsistency in the first innings, Kohli didn't give him a bowl until the 40th over of the second innings. The expectations were quite high from Umesh after he had taken four wickets in the warm-up game against Essex in the first innings. However, he failed to convert that form in the last Test.

Both Bhuvneshar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are injured and are not likely to be back before the fourth Test. This makes Kuldeep's chances of playing in the eleven brighter.

So, here is my pick for the Indian team playing eleven for the next Test match at Lord's:

Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.