Ahead of India's much-anticipated Test series against England, here is Wisden's combined England-India Test XI.
The selection process for this XI only takes into consideration performances from India-England Tests played in the 21st century. Consequently, some big names, including arguably two of the biggest names in Indian cricket, miss out.
Five England and five India players make the final XI, with one spot being a toss-up between an England seamer and an Indian spinner based on conditions.
Also read: Wisden's 2023-25 World Test Championship team of the tournament
Alastair Cook
2,431 runs at 47.66, 7 hundreds, 9 fifties, HS: 294
Cook is, by far, the highest run-scorer among openers in India-England Tests this century. Rohit Sharma, the next on the list, has not even scored half of Cook's tally. Cook also led England to a memorable 2-1 series victory in India in 2012, making him a lock at the top.
Michael Vaughan
1,016 runs at 72.57, 4 hundreds, 3 fifties, HS: 197
Vaughan played four Tests as opener, three at No.3, and two at No.4 against India. No one has scored more runs at a higher average than him in India-England Tests.
Rahul Dravid
1,763 runs at 60.79, 7 hundreds, 6 fifties, HS: 217
Dravid has scored the most centuries by an Indian against England in Tests, three of which came in his last tour in 2011. He also remains the last Indian captain to win a Test series in England.
Joe Root
2,846 runs at 58.08, 10 hundreds, 11 fifties, HS: 218
No other batter in the history of Test cricket has more runs against India than Joe Root. His 10 hundreds is also only behind Steve Smith's 11. He pips both Sachin Tendulkar – 1,560 runs at 42.16 – and Virat Kohli – 1,991 runs at 52.06 – to the No.4 spot.
Kevin Pietersen
1,581 runs at 58.55, 6 hundreds, 6 fifties, HS: 202*
Pietersen makes it at No.5 in this team, having made six hundreds and fifties against India. He played an instrumental role in England's 2-1 triumph in 2012/13, which included a famous 186 in Mumbai.
Rishabh Pant
781 runs at 39.05, 3 hundreds, 4 fifties, HS: 146
41 catches, 5 stumpings
MS Dhoni had 12 fifties against England and is the only wicketkeeper to score over a thousand runs in this matchup, though he averaged 33.05 and never scored a hundred. Pant, on the other hand, has already scored three. Matt Prior and Deep Dasgupta are the only other wicketkeepers with centuries to their names in India-England Test matches.
Ravindra Jadeja
1,031 runs at 33.25, 2 hundreds, 6 fifties, HS: 112
70 wickets at 32.57, 2 five-fors, 1 ten-for, BBI: 7-48
Jadeja is the all-rounder of the side, giving it balance. He is one of only two players with the double of 1,000 runs and 50 wickets in India-England Tests, the other being R Ashwin. While Jadeja hasn't been as successful with the ball in England as he has been in India, his batting pedigree makes him a reliable choice at No.7.
R Ashwin / Stuart Broad
Ashwin: 1,086 runs at 32.90, 1 hundred, 6 fifties | 114 wickets at 27.72, 8 five-fors, 1 ten-for, BBI: 6-55
Broad: 470 runs at 17.40, 2 fifties | 74 wickets at 28.51, 2 five-fors, BBI: 6-25
Ashwin is the second-highest wicket-taker in India-England Tests after James Anderson. To go with 114 scalps, he has also scored more than a thousand runs at a 30-plus average. For conditions which demand a second spinner, he'd make it at No.8 ahead of Broad.
Broad is third on the wicket-takers list after Ashwin, but a majority of his wickets came in England: 64 out of 74 in fact, at an average of 23.32. He'd be the fourth seamer of the side, if need be.
Zaheer Khan
43 wickets at 29.02, 1 five-for, BBI: 5-75
Zaheer took 18 wickets in the three-Test series which India won 1-0 in 2007 in England. The next highest wicket-taker among left-arm seamers in India-England matches this century is Sam Curran with 14 wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah
60 wickets at 22.16, 3 five-fors, BBI: 6-45
Bumrah has terrorised England batters both home and away. He has picked wickets every 47.2 balls against England, easily the best among the top-15 wicket-takers in this matchup.
James Anderson
149 wickets at 25.47, 6 five-fors, BBI: 5-20
No one has picked up more Test wickets against India than Anderson. While being phenomenal at home, he steadily got better and better with every tour to India, finishing with 44 wickets at an average of 30.27 in India.
Wisden's combined England-India Test XI
Alastair Cook
Michael Vaughan
Rahul Dravid
Joe Root
Kevin Pietersen
Rishabh Pant (wk)
Ravindra Jadeja
R Ashwin / Stuart Broad
Zaheer Khan
Jasprit Bumrah
James Anderson
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