Shubman Gill is announced as captain with Rishabh Pant as his deputy.
On Saturday, the BCCI announced the 18-member squad that will tour England next month for five Test matches. The first match will start on June 20 at Headingley. The captaincy and vice-captaincy choices of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant were foreseen, especially after the Test retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
The Test squad, however, is a mix of old and new faces. Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh have earned their maiden Test call-up. Prominent names like Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Shami, and Sarfaraz Khan have missed out.
With a plethora of options to choose from, be it opening pairs to middle-order line-up, let’s take a look at the best playing XI.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul look set as the opening pair for India in Tests. During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, the duo entered the list of 200+ partnerships for the first wicket during the Perth Test. Jaiswal added 161 while Rahul made 77 runs in their 201-run partnership. They will look to repeat their camaraderie in England. The left and right-handed style also adds to the complexity for the opponent bowlers.
Sai Sudharsan should join the crease after any opener is dismissed. He has been batting at the No.1 position for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. But, he comes out at the No.3 position for his domestic team, Tamil Nadu. The one-down spot will suit Sudharsan’s tactics well, plus add another lefty in the top order.
Shubman Gill is a popular choice to take over Virat Kohli’s reins, a spot that was taken care of for more than a decade. Previously, Sachin Tendulkar batted at No.4 for a majority of two decades. Gill, being a young player, has the potential to start a new era and leave a legacy.
However, Gill is yet to bat outside the top order. It’ll be interesting to see how he manages the captaincy duties along with facing the older ball. This position will demand more footwork and a tactical approach.
The middle order sounds balanced with the likes of Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Pant has scored 44% of his 2,948 Test runs from the fifth spot. He can look to rebuild his career from this England tour.
Jadeja and Reddy form the senior-young pair in the middle order. They also offer a left-right combination. The duo can also flip their positions as per the situation of the game. Jadeja has a low average of 29 in England, while Reddy was the lone warrior after India’s batting collapse Down Under. Both all-rounders will add vital depth to the batting line-up.
Kuldeep Yadav would be the only designated spinner, alongside assistance from Jadeja. However, the chinaman is yet to prove his mettle in England, having featured in only one wicketless outing so far. Mohammed Siraj has done fairly well in England, holding an average of 34 and an economy rate of around 3.8. He is expected to assist Jasprit Bumrah, who is looking to manage his workload.
Furthermore, Bumrah may not be available for all five Tests. This is where Siraj’s experience will come in handy. In that case, Arshdeep Singh may get a chance.
An interesting addition to the playing XI will be Prasidh Krishna. He possesses genuine pace and the ability to extract extra bounce, an ever-present threat to batters on any surface. His role will become even more crucial with the Duke’s ball.
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk and vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk and vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna.
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