Though coming off an encouraging series win in Sri Lanka, Joe Root and England face an almighty task ahead as a mouth-watering challenge in India awaits.
In a highly-anticipated encounter, England travel to India for a four-match Test series, starting on Friday morning.
The visitors are set to receive an influx of pace, power and skill as Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes are recalled to the squad.
Joe Root and his England team-mates celebrated a comfortable 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka
Meanwhile, England finally have their captain back in full swing after Root put in a scintillating performance of sheer batting genius against Sri Lanka.
India, however, showed fortitude and immense ability to beat Australia in their back yard in January – despite going 1-0 down in the series and being largely without captain and talisman Virat Kohli, who missed the final three matches on paternity leave.
The hosts will have no such problems against England, though, as Kohli returns to the team, while a plethora of injuries that burdened India’s spinners have since subsided.
With India coming into the Test in stunning form and a with jaw-dropping home record to match, Sportsmail’s panel of experts Nasser Hussain, David Lloyd and Paul Newman unanimously agree England face an uphill battle.
Importantly, England must win at least three of the four upcoming matches against India if they are to meet New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship.
With plenty on the line, Sportsmail analyses the major talking points below.
Despite the absence of Virat Kolhi, India sealed an impressive 2-1 away win in Australia
England continue their new team selection strategy
Before we jump into the finer details of England’s impending Test against India, it’s important to outline the intriguing team selection, which has left many scratching their heads.
With the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic enforcing a ravaged cricket calendar last year, England have a whole lot to play in 2021.
Looking beyond the fearsome challenge in India, including their white-ball series to follow, England also play New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and another Test against India this year – all before the re-arranged World T20 championships and an end-of-year Ashes extravaganza against Australia.
With that in mind, national team selector, Ed Smith, has opted to continue his new policy of squad rotation.
Jos Buttler has been selected for the opening Test in Chennai, but will be sent home after that. Meanwhile, Sam Curran, Mark Wood and Jonny Bairstow are all out of the first two Tests, but will subsequently return to the group.
One advocate of England’s rotation policy is the returning Archer, who said: ‘I think the ECB has made it really great to give people like myself six weeks away.
‘Jos (Buttler) is away after the (first Test against India), Sam (Curran) has gone, so they are making it a priority that everyone gets time away so they can come back refreshed and ready to go.
‘I looked at the schedule today and all I can say is it’s going to be a very long year.’
India vs England: Two teams in hot form
Both England and India will come into this series full of confidence after their respective wins in January.
England’s victory should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt, however, particularly as they have now won six Test series in a row in Sri Lanka, five of which have come under Root.
However, there were significant positives to take, none more so than the performance of the captain.
But looking beyond Sri Lanka, England have now won five away Tests on the bounce. India represent a rather different proposition, however, particularly at home.
Led by the all-time great Kohli, India have won an incredible 12 home Tests series on the spin.
In fact, the last team to beat India on their soil was England – all the way back in 2012, then led by Alastair Cook.
England have returned to India just once since, where they were demolished 4-0 in 2016.
Joe Root vs Virat Kohli: The all-important battle
Joe Root (L) will look to continue his fine form against India, who welcome back Virat Kohli (R)
After a troublesome spell for the England captain, Root was back to his very best against Sri Lanka.
The Yorkshireman scored over 200 runs more than any other player, amassing a jaw-dropping 426 runs in total at an average of 106.5.
It was exactly the type of Test Root had been longing for, and one that will have provided ample preparation for India, particularly because of his strong performance against the spin.
For England to prevail in India, they will need their captain on top form once more. Put simply, he’s the key to victory. And in a boost for the visitors, Root’s average in Asia at 54.13 is higher than anywhere else in the world.
In Kohli, Root is coming up against some competitor, though, especially as the India captain has a point to prove.
In his absence, Ajinkya Rahane led India to a historic away victory in Australia and certainly threw his name into the hat of potential future captains.
Kohli will be keen to silence any creeping doubters after he left his side for paternity leave when 1-0 down.
The pressure is on – for both captains.
Crawley injury a blow for England
Zak Crawley will miss the first two Tests in India after suffering an injury to his wrist
On the eve of the opening day, England were dealt a heavy blow as Zak Crawley was ruled out of the first two Tests with a wrist injury, having slipped outside the one of the dressing rooms in the Chepauk Stadium.
‘Scan results have confirmed that Crawley has jarred his right wrist, which has sprained the joint and led to local inflammation,’ England said in a statement on Thursday.
‘The England medical team will continue to assess his progress over the next few weeks.’
The 23-year-old, who hit a memorable 267 against Pakistan during a stellar 2020, was set to bat at No3.
And with Johnny Bairstow not in the squad, England have somewhat of a selection headache on their hands.
Though it remains to be seen, a possible option is that the returning Ben Stokes will drop into the No3 slot in Crawley’s absence.
How to watch
With Channel 4 winning the rights to broadcast India vs England, Test cricket returns to English terrestrial television for the first time since 2005.
Despite competition from Sky Sports and BT Sport, Channel 4 won the rights to broadcast all four Tests in India – both on television and their streaming service All Four – in a deal understood to be a cut-price of £7million.
Former England captains Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook have been confirmed as pundits for the upcoming Tests.
Cook, who retired from international cricket in 2018, will be in the studio for the first and third Tests.
Strauss will be present in the third and fourth Tests, while Rishi Persad will provide commentary throughout.
If you can’t watch the action live, the highlights will be available later on in the day on All Four.