3 things to watch-out for in India's squad announcement for remaining Tests vs England

There is an air of uncertainty surrounding Team India's squad for the remainder of the Test series against England. The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar have to deal with a lot of factors and variables. The ongoing injury crisis also makes a lot difficult for the team management to maintain quality in the team as they are in store for a stern test against a relentless English side.

The selectors were supposed to meet a few days ago to finalize the squad, however, with several players dealing with injuries, there was a need for the official reports from the National Cricket Academy (NCA), before anything could be finalized.

Team India do not have the luxury of fielding their first-choice playing XI due to several unfortunate reasons. With the ongoing series being far from a regular dominant affair at home, the hosts must ensure that they are equipped in the best way possible.

On that note, let us take a look at three things to watch-out for in India's squad announcement for remaining Tests vs England.

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#1 Virat Kohli's availability for the fifth Test

Rumors circulating Kohli's absence continues to be a prominent feature midway through the series. A recent report in ESPNCricinfo suggests that the former skipper will not be available for the upcoming third and fourth Tests as well, but there is still a bleak chance for him to feature in the series finale in Dharamshala.

If that is the case, Team India will not only welcome the ace batter back with open arms, even if it is only for one Test. As a result, he is expected to be named in the squad by the BCCI.

There is a high chance, based on how the series has progressed so far, that the fate of the Anthony de Mello trophy will only be decided in the fifth and final Test. Kohli's presence for the high-pressure encounter will be the ideal scenario for the hosts, especially since the current middle order is injury plagued, inexperienced and struggling for runs.

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#2 Is Shreyas Iyer's latest injury severe enough to keep him out of the entire series?

In a latest blow to add to the list of casualties, right-handed batter, Shreyas Iyer, has also reported of back pain. It is to be noted that he had surgery last year that kept him out of the Indian Premier League as well as the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

He played without any major discomfort in the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup, but an issue to the same area flaring up again comes across as quite alarming. So far, there is no clarity regarding the extent of his back stiffness, and it remains to be seen whether the team will take a gamble by including him in the squad or take the safe route by resting him for the remainder of the series.

Although India are likely to have middle order candidates like the returning KL Rahul, Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan, India will be tempted to name an additional batter in Iyer's absence.

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#3 How will the seam attack shape up?

So far, it has been Jasprit Bumrah who has been carrying not only the pace bowling outift, but the entire bowling unit, which is a very rare sight in subcontinent conditions. However, with the right-arm pacer set to be rested in one of the remaining three Tests, India will have to spruce up their pace attack.

The first approach will be to recall Mohammed Siraj, who did not play the second Test, and was released from the squad. It remains to be seen what happens with Mukesh Kumar, who was far from convincing in the second Test, and Avesh Khan, who was released for a Ranji Trophy contest.

The fate of the seam attack also depends on whether India choose to play with three spinners or mirror England's approach and go for four spinners in the playing XI, especially with Ravindra Jadeja close to returning to full fitness.

Will there be any surprise inclusions in the Indian Test squad for the remaining Tests against England? Let us know what you think.