India v England: the match-ups to watch

R Ashwin tweeted his congratulations after Bangladesh secured their historic Test win over England last month - but the details of England's collapse on the third evening in Dhaka, when they lost 10 wickets in a session, surely excited him even more. The teenaged Mehedi Hasan, an orthodox offspinner, picked up his third six-for in four innings to be named Man of the Series and left England in no doubt about the size of the challenge facing them on the subcontinent. Ashwin recently claimed 27 wickets at 17.77 in three Tests against New Zealand, while Ravindra Jadeja is a metronomic menace on helpful surfaces, and they are primed to pick apart English techniques against spin; among the top seven, only Alastair Cook (who averages 61.85 in India) has significant experience of the conditions. England's batsmen face not so much a learning curve as a cliff if they are to avoid getting turned over.

India's captain, Virat Kohli, sets the tone in the field and with bat in hand, while England will seek inspiration from Joe Root, the highest-ranked batsman on either side. For both, this could be a defining series. Kohli has banked more than his share of failures against England, averaging 20.12 in 17 Test innings, but has a vastly improved record since taking over from MS Dhoni, which includes two double-hundreds in the last four months. Root, meanwhile, has established himself among the best in his generation since making 73 on debut in Nagpur four years ago - but is still awaiting a first Test hundred in Asia. Sam Billings, one of the few Englishmen to play in the IPL, says Kohli and Root share a work ethic that sets them apart. "They're both seriously, seriously good," he said. "I'd go as far as to say they're freaks, but with a kind of un-freakish nature." May the best freak win.

During the summer of 2014, England faced a dilemma about how to replace Graeme Swann. Moeen Ali was picked and, despite an underwhelming debut series against Sri Lanka, he suckered India spectacularly on the way to 19 wickets at 23.00 as England came from behind for a 3-1 series win. A couple of years on and England still have plenty of problems in the spin department but Moeen is sure to have a key role (not least because of his batting). He admitted in Bangladesh that he is still "nowhere near where I want to be as a spinner" and has struggled with the demands of leading an inexperienced spin attack: wicket-taking deliveries will doubtless materialise but control remains an issue. Bangladesh and, in particular, Pakistan have found success in attacking Moeen but that was India's downfall in their last meeting. If Moeen maintains his mozz, things could get interesting.

India have three uncapped players in their 15-man squad, while England head into the first Test having fielded a debutant in their previous two matches. India's young guns, Hardik Pandya and Karun Nair, may be in a shootout for one place but the absence of Rohit Sharma means an inexperienced pivot at No. 6 (unless they go for a five-man attack); there is also the possibility of KL Rahul returning from injury to win his 10th Test cap, should Gautam Gambhir's latest comeback not go to plan. For the tourists, there is a decision to make on whether to stick Ben Duckett and his reverse-sweep stylings at the top of the order - after one fifty in four innings in Bangladesh - or bring in another new face in Haseeb Hameed. England may also stick with Zafar Ansari, on the grounds that he will turn the ball away from India's right-handers. By Christmas, some of those names might ring a few more bells.

Jonny Bairstow is two-thirds of the way through a record-breaking year as England's Test wicketkeeper. In Bangladesh, he first passed Andy Flower's mark for the most runs by a wicketkeeper in a calendar year (and could still eclipse Michael Vaughan's overall England record); then he moved ahead of Matt Prior with the most calendar year dismissals for England. And yet… as soon as Bairstow drops a chance, as he did in the Chittagong Test, the murmurs about whether he merits the gloves will return. Five matches in six weeks in India will stretch him in every way imaginable and the scrutiny will be sharpened by the contrast with the opposition's man. Wriddhiman Saha is something of a throwback, a wicketkeeper first and batsman second (although he can certainly hold his own), tidying up assiduously behind the stumps. He was only required to take two catches in three Tests against New Zealand but, after almost two years in the job, he has achieved the wicketkeeper's grail: not being talked about.