THE first Test between England and India today at Trent Bridge will mark the beginning of the 2023 ICC World Test Championship cycle.
India have had to deal with injury woes yet again on the England tour with Mayank Agarwal out of the first Test due to a concussion.
Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, and Avesh Khan are already ruled out of the whole series. However, Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav are flying to England as replacements and will give the visitors options for the second Test. Rohit Sharma is now likely to open with KL Rahul, who has proved a strong contender after a hundred in the practice game against County Select XI. It also remains to be seen whether India will go in with two frontline spinners or think about adding a fourth pacer with the conditions in England favouring the seamers.
England, on the other hand, have a void to fill in the absence of Ben Stokes, who brought balance to the side. Sam Curran is the leading man in Stokes’ absence who can offer the same set of skills with the bat and ball. The hosts will also be without the services of Jofra Archer, who is recovering from elbow surgery. The wicket at Trent Bridge looks bowler-friendly with plenty of grass and with both teams rich in pace options it might be a tightly-fought contest.

Remember the last time:
The two sides went head-to-head in a four-match Test series hosted by India in February this year.
In the final Test, India dominated England with a comprehensive win by an innings and 25 runs, thus taking the series 3-1.