Virat Kohli to break 4-year-long practice at Lord's? Leaked team-sheet suggests so

Update: Virat Kohli makes two changes to the playing XI that featured at Edgbaston. Kuldeep Yadav and Cheteshwar Pujara come in for Umesh Yadav and Shikhar Dhawan. 

India captain Virat Kohli may field the same playing XI for two consecutive Test matches for the first time since he took over as captain in the longer formats in 2014.

According to reports, the team-sheet was leaked online on Thursday, August 9, even as rain washed out the first day's play of the ongoing second Test at Lord's Cricket Ground in London.

If the leaked team-sheet proves authentic, then Kohli and the team management have opted to field the same playing XI that had lost the first Test of the five-match series at Edgbaston last week.

According to the images of the team-sheet circulating on social media, England are set to replace Ben Stokes with Chris Woakes as the Rajasthan Royals all-rounder misses out due to his ongoing affray trail.

Captain Joe Root had earlier confirmed that the hosts will hand a maiden Test cap to young Ollie Pope, who replaces Dawid Malan.

Check out the photos here: Is this India's playing XI for the Lord's Test?

Captain Kohli hasn't played the same XI in successive Tests for 36 matches, dating back to the 2014 Adelaide Test in which he led India in whites for the first time in his career.

It seemed as if he would continue the trend when he told the media on the eve of the second Test that the team is tempted to play two spinners at Lord's.

The wicket at Lord's wore a dry look in the lead up to the Test match due to the heat wave that had swept the city. However, the English weather dramatically changed on Thursday morning and continuous drizzle forced the officials to abandon the first day's play.

With clouds expected to hang over the iconic cricket ground over the next few days, India may rethink their strategy of playing two spinners. With Jasprit Bumrah not fit enough to take the field, the visiting team is likely to stick with the same bowling attack that played in Edgbaston.

On the other hand, Kohli has been facing criticism for not backing his batsmen enough, especially during overseas tours. His chopping and changing policy is being seen as one of the reasons for the dampened confidence in the batting unit.

Barring Kohli, none of the other batsmen found ways to survive during their 31-run defeat in Edgbaston. Nonetheless, if one goes by the leaked team sheet, it seems the skipper has shown trust in his top-order.