Team India touched down in Manchester on Sunday ahead of the must-win fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy
England were comfortably placed at 225 for two at stumps after bowling out India for 358 on the second day of the fourth Test in Manchester on Thursday.
Virat Kohli is yet to arrive in Bengaluru and it is not clear when he will undergo the mandatory fitness test ahead of the new season.
India's final practice session ahead of the Lord's Test witnessed playful banter between pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Shardul Thakur.
Shreyas Iyer's 604 runs across 17 matches for Punjab Kings at a strike-rate in excess of 175 did not resonate with the selectors during the Asia Cup selection.
Gill, Rahul score fifties in intra-squad practice match against India A ahead of England Test
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak explained the team's rationale behind playing an all-rounder at No 8 rather than fielding a specialist bowler.
The fringe and aspiring bunch will look to own the elevated Duleep Trophy stage as the red-ball competition returns to its traditional zonal format and marks the start of India's domestic cricket season.
Veteran all-rounder Shardul Thakur said a cooling off period is essential for players of this era where they go through hectic schedules.
Opener Ben Duckett hit the most defining century of his career, exposing an out-of-depth Indian attack as England comfortably chased down a tricky target of 371 to win the opening Test by five wickets.
'He will have no problems playing under any captain, he will still give his 100 percent for the team.'
Indian cricketers, including Test skipper Shubman Gill and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, have cleared the pre-season fitness test which was conducted at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on Sunday.
While the young Indian team showed great resolve to earn a creditable draw in England, the series exposed several weaknesses that need urgent attention.
'Nitish is our premium batting all-rounder at the moment. So I would say it's a very good chance to play this Test.'
How India's players enjoyed their time in Wednesday's training session.
Gaikwad constructed a handy partnership 90 for the second wicket with Aarya Desai as West gradually entered a stabilised phase.
Broken foot, unbroken in spirit: Pant gives update
India all-rounder Shardul Thakur urged Abhimanyu Easwaran and Kuldeep Yadav to show patience and wait for their chances, after they were benched for the entire five-Test series in England.
All eyes were on pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who participated in the training session, though his availability for the match is a big doubt.
Central Zone advanced to the Duleep Trophy final by virtue of their first innings lead in the drawn match against West Zone.
India Test skipper and T20 vice-captain Shubman Gill reached the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) for fitness assessment ahead of travelling to Dubai for the upcoming Asia Cup.
The duo is followed by a former Sri Lanka icon, Mahela Jayawardene, with 205 outfield catches in 149 appearances.
A large group of players, including Mohammed Siraj, the hero of the victory, boarded an Emirates flight early Tuesday morning, heading to Dubai en route to their respective home cities in India.
"He is going to be our strike bowler": Sachin Tendulkar on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of Leeds Test against England
Shardul also had a grand Sangeet and Haldi ceremony over the weekend, pictures of which went viral.
Former star spinner Harbhajan Singh picked Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of all-rounder Shardul Thakur for India's upcoming Boxing Day Test clash against South Africa in Centurion.
Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for the fifth Test against England?
Siraj, Krishna, Akash Shine as India's Pace Future Takes Shape
Tanush Kotian once again showcased his ability to absorb pressure with a fighting fifty to shore up West Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinals
From Jasprit Bumrah's much-anticipated return to the all-rounder conundrum, the playing XI could very well hold the key to seizing control of this historic series.
India may have made tactical errors, but former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes the bigger culprit was the weather.
Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna all sweating it out in the nets -- not with the ball, but with the bat.
'I will play under him again and I have played under him before, so I will try to learn a lot of things and how he gets performance out of players.'
India will ponder whether they want to include Washington Sundar, who is quite handy with the bat or Kuldeep Yadav, who is a much better wicket-taking option.
India stuck to their pre-series decision to field Bumrah in only three Tests and was hence not played in the final Test at the Oval
Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of the series against England due to a knee injury.
The 24-year-old pacer, handed his maiden international cap, is being hailed as a 'good replacement' by former India quick Varun Aaron
India skipper Shubman Gill on Wednesday said that levelling the five-match Test series in England would be a "great achievement" and he would return from his first assignment as captain a lot wiser.
India pacer Akash Deep was on Tuesday ruled out of the fourth Test against England due to a groin injury, and captain Shubman Gill said uncapped fast bowler Anshul Kamboj is close to making his debut at Old Trafford.
Calling Kuldeep a world-class spinner, Morkel said India are trying to fit the wily operator into the side. He can now only play the last Test at The Oval from July 31.
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