India vs England: Hosts begin mind games, recall R Ashwin's 6-55 in 2016 series; WATCH

International cricket will return to India after a hiatus of almost one and a half years, as the Men in Blue prepare to take on England at home. India's last home Test series came against Bangladesh, all the way back in November 2019 and they won both Tests by an innings. Playing in far different conditions this time around, India will hope to start off the long-drawn series - consisting of 4 Tests, 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs - with a win over the visitors. The India vs England 1st Test will commence on Friday, February 5, with the last game of the series taking place on March 28. 

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BCCI teases R Ashwin wickets from 2016 series ahead of India vs England clash

Both England and India will be charged up by their recent victories as they come into this Test series. With the first Test set to take place in Chennai on Friday, the BCCI has turned up the heat a notch, reminding England of their fate the last time they came to India for a Test series. The board took to Twitter to post a video highlight of R Ashwin's magical spell from the India vs England series in 2016, when the spinner recorded figures of 6-55 to bundle out the visitors in the 4th test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

Already 0-2 down in a five-Test series, England had put up 400 runs in their first innings. A 235 run knock from Virat Kohli, along with 136 by Murali Vijay helped India to a whopping 631-run total. Ashwin's heroics helped India knock England out for just 195, helping them win by an innings and 36 runs and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.

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With Kohli returning to assume the captaincy of the Indian team and Joe Root coming off a wondrous run in Sri Lanka, the Root vs Kohli tussle is expected to be one of the defining features of this series. Both captains will be hoping to guide their sides to the World Test Championship finals scheduled for this summer. India are currently in the top spot in the ICC WTC table, while England are some way behind, at No.4.

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India squad for England Tests 2021

India (First two Tests): Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (WK), Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur

India Standby players: KS Bharat, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Chahar, Priyank Panchal

England (First two tests): Joe Root (C), Moeen Ali, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Dom Sibley, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, James Anderson

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Image Credits: BCCI