(Cricket news) The men in blue return to red ball action for the first time since the disappointing series loss in South Africa. Team India start a new era under the leadership of Rohit Sharma who will take over from Virat Kohli. The captaincy is not the only change as senior players Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha and Ishant Sharma have been dropped from the side after being an integral part of the team for so many years.

India's Possible Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma(C), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.

Bench: Shubman Gill, Priyank Panchal, K.S Bharat, Jayant Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

Leaving Shubman Gill out is going to be a very tough call but it has to be taken as playing all of them will be surplus to needs. Kuldeep Yadav's return is very crucial for the side as India desperately need a wrist spinner in the Test set-up. Virat Kohli will be playing his 100th Test match and there is speculation that he could be promoted to number 3. Two seamers and three spinners has been the combination that India has used in Indian conditions but it does mean that one spinner will be under utilised.

Sri Lanka Possible Playing XI:

Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Praveen Jayawickrama, Lasith Embuldeniya, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera.

Bench: Niroshan Dickwella, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay.

Batting wise a lot will be dependent on the experienced Mathews and Karunaratne. Chameera's raw pace has the ability to trouble the Indian batters just like he did in the T20I series. He will once again be looking to get the better of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma. 

Pitch report and Weather forecast:

The weather is forecasted to be nice and sunny except for the 3rd day which could have a possible cloud cover. Mohali is usually a typical Indian pitch with assistance for the seamers at the beginning with the spinners coming into play as the days progress. The captain who wins the toss should look to bat first and get a big score on board. 

Both the sides will be keeping an eye on the World Test Championship table. Rohit Sharma is yet to lose a game since becoming full time ODI and T20I captain and he will be looking to continue the same with red ball cricket. The team has a lot of changes which could backfire but it is definitely a start of a new era in Indian Test cricket history.
 

Also read: How KKR could fare under the new leadership of Shreyas Iyer