The sight of veteran offie Ravichandran Ashwin warming the bench for the first four Tests in last year’s India vs England Pataudi Trophy series raised a lot of eyebrows.

This time, under new leadership [Rohit Sharma] and management [Rahul Dravid & Co], it remains to be seen whether Ashwin will get a look-in for the fifth rescheduled Test, starting in Birmingham on July 1. Ashwin, who joined the Indian Test team late after being infected by Covid-19, is not part of the tourists’ lone warm-up tie—against Leicestershire.