Captain Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri addressed Team India players ahead of the 1st Test against England which gets underway on February 5 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The home team kick-started their training on Monday (February 1) after serving the six-day quarantine period. In a series of pictures shared by the official Twitter handle of BCCI, Shastri and Kohli were seen giving pep talks to the players as India’s preparations for England challenge gets underway. Notably, this opening Test will mark the return of international cricket to India after the COVID-19 halt, and the home team would be raring to make a mark. India Likely Playing XI for 1st Test vs England: Probable Indian Cricket Team Line-up for Series Opener in Chennai.

Team India will take the field as firm favourites as they are coming off a historic 2-1 triumph on Australian soil. Moreover, several big names like Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma are back in the team, which would boost the home side’s morale even further. The upcoming series holds even higher significance as India can consolidate their top spot in the ICC World Test Championship points table, confirming their berth in the finals. On the other hand, the Three Lions need nothing less than a 3-0 win to stay in the race for finals. However, the task seems improbable as India lost a home Test series since 2012. Meanwhile, let’s look at how Kohli and Shastri addressed the Indian players. India vs England 2021: Here's How IND & ENG Fared in Their Last Tussle on Indian Soil.

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England last visited India in the 2016-17 season, and they don’t have pleasant memories from their tour. While they were thrashed 0-4 in the five-match Test series, they lost the ODI and T20I series by 1-2. As per cricket pundits and fans, the result would be similar this time as well, and it will be interesting to see if Joe Root’s men can defy the odds or the inevitable will happen.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 02, 2021 12:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).