Leeds head of grounds Richard Robinson said that England wanted a 'good surface' for their opening Test match against India, set to begin on Friday. This will be the first Test of a 5-match series where England will face a new-look Team India, bereft of the talents of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin. "They (England) just want to have a good surface so it's true, really, so we can hit through the line of the ball. That's really what they're looking for," Richard Robsinon, head of grounds at Leeds, was quoted as saying by 'ESPNCricinfo'. Robinson expects the pitch to aid the fast bowlers on the opening day before flattening out due to the expected heat. A batting surface would not only suit England's Bazball, it would also bring the inexperienced Indian batting line-up much more into the contest. Last month, Shubman Gill was named as Rohit Sharma’s successor following a meeting of the selection committee at the cricket board headquarters at Wankhede Stadium. Gill will be India’s 37th Test captain. His deputy for the England tour will be Rishabh Pant. Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said Gill’s elevation as the captain was taken after seeing his ‘progress in the last year or two’. “You don’t pick captains for one or two tours. You want to invest in something that will help us going forward. You are hoping it’s the right call. You are seeing progress in the last year or two. It is going to be as tough as it gets. Maybe he’ll have to learn on the job. But we are very confident and that is the reason we have picked him,” Agarkar said. Curiously, Gill was dropped mid-way through a series – in two out of the five matches during India’s last Test tour, to Australia. At that point, it seemed inevitable that Jasprit Bumrah, who led India to a famous win in Perth in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy encounter, would take over as the Test team captain. Just then, Bumrah injured his back at the Sydney Test and subsequently missed three months of cricket. The fact that he will play just three Tests in England further meant that the team needed a leader who’d be fit and feature in all matches.
