After Covid wranglings, cancellations and changes of captains and coaches on both sides, the destination of the Pataudi Trophy will be finally decided at Edgbaston over the next five days. Once upon a time, a series that had been subject to such a jolt would have been quietly shelved, but the game runs on the fumes of television money, and with £20 million of broadcast revenue at stake, space has been carved out in an already crammed schedule.
To put this one-off Test in context is difficult, with both teams under new management and a raft of players who were involved a year ago absent. Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli have moved on from positions of responsibility for India, with Shastri returning to the commentary
