HYDERABAD, India, Jan 25, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - England skipper Ben Stokes won
the toss and elected to bat first against India in the opening Test of a
five-match series on Thursday.

The tourists named their XI on the eve of the match in Hyderabad and handed
left-arm spinner Tom Hartley his first Test cap.

England have brought in three specialist spinners as well as Joe Root, a
veteran batsman who also bowls.

Mark Wood remains the only fast bowler in the team, who Stokes called an "X-
factor" on a pitch that is expected to assist the spinners.

India, who remain unbeaten at home in a Test series since 2012 when Alastair
Cook's England beat them 2-1, come in with three spinners and two seamers.

Skipper Rohit Sharma said he would have opted to bat as well had he won the
toss but believes they have "got the skills, (and) got guys who can do the
job".

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel gets the nod ahead of Kuldeep Yadav's left-arm
wrist spin, which Rohit admitted was a "tough" call.

Uncapped batsman Rajat Patidar has joined the squad as a replacement for
Virat Kohli, who withdrew from the first two Tests due to "personal reasons".

England spinner Shoaib Bashir is not in the line-up for the first Test but
has received his visa for India and will join the touring team this weekend,
the country's cricket board said late Wednesday.

Teams

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas
Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel,
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben
Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack
Leach

Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Paul Reiffel (AUS)

TV Umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)

Match Referee: Richie Richardson (WIS)