India vs England: India's possible playing XI to face England

Openers

Who will be Murali Vijay’s opening partner?

Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Gautam Gambhir - these are the four names that were competing for the two openers’ slot before the New Zealand series. In a space of one month, only two of these four names are available to face England.

In the Test series against New Zealand, all three openers got a chance to open with Vijay and Rahul was the one who impressed the most. A hamstring injury to KL Rahul in the first Test gave Dhawan a chance to play in the second before the Delhi left-hander made way for another in Gambhir in the third test as he was forced to miss the final Test due to a thumb injury.

Unfortunately, both Dhawan and Rahul are not included in the Indian squad for the first two Tests as they are yet to regain full fitness. This makes Vijay and Gambhir as the two openers in the squad and it is certain that these two will open for India in the series against England.