5 England players to watch out for in India-England Tests

2. Zafar Ansari:

Whether or not Ansari gets to play in Rajkot is uncertain. In the presence of Moeen Ali, Gareth Batty and leg-spinner Adil Rashid, it seems tough that could be squeezed into the team. In the presence of these names, inexperience might may delay his opportunity to play against India. But, should the left arm spinner play, he might be a great deciding factor.

The 24-year-old cricketer, who made his debut in the second Test in the recently concluded Bangladesh tour, would enjoy the bowling conditions here. On top of it, there is no left arm spinner in the team and that is where the chances of him playing in the opening Test look bright. A student of the Cambridge University in politics and sociology and a pianist, Ansari surely is an intelligent and smart individual.

His all-round abilities reflect on the cricket field as well where he has contributed to his county side Surrey in all three departments. He has 124 wickets including six five-wicket hauls and can bat responsibly as well, having even opened for Surrey in First-Class cricket. With the bat, Ansari has made close to 3,000 runs with three FC centuries ad 15 half-centuries  at an average just under 31.