Shubman Gill was announced as the new India captain.
The India Test squad for the upcoming tour of England was finally announced on Saturday. The much-awaited five-match Test series is scheduled to begin on June 20. Shubman Gill was named the new captain of the Test team, with Rishabh Pant set to be his deputy.
Following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, a few changes were expected. The chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, revealed an 18-member squad in a press conference.
They have included some fresh faces on the side, such as Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Eswaran, and Arshdeep Singh. Karun Nair earned a recall on the back of a blockbuster domestic season.
India Test Squad: 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
The above squad has some prominent players missing, who did not cut. We take a look at three surprising omissions from the India Test squad for the England tour.
The veteran fast bowler was the biggest name missing from the squad. Mohammed Shami last featured in the longer format in the World Test Championship final in 2023. Later, he had to undergo ankle surgery, which sidelined him for nearly a year. He has played some domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL) since returning, but has not looked at his best.
With Jasprit Bumrah’s workload set to be managed, the selectors did not want another pacer whose fitness could be doubtful. There were concerns regarding Shami’s ability to bowl longer spells at his current fitness level. Agarkar revealed the pacer had MRI scans recently and wasn’t going to be fit enough.
Shami’s loss was Arshdeep Singh’s gain as the left-arm pacer received his maiden call-up to the India Test squad.
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Shreyas Iyer was another big omission from the Test side, considering his experience and current form. With Rohit and Virat retiring, he would have hoped for a return to the side, but the selectors had other thoughts. When asked about his exclusion, Agarkar stated that the tough competition was the reason.
“Shreyas Iyer had a good ODI series (Champions Trophy). He played well in domestic cricket, too, but there’s no spot now in the Test side. If he does continues to do well in domestic cricket, I’m sure there’ll be a place for him in the future,” said Agarkar.
Shreyas had a great Ranji Trophy season, where he amassed 480 runs at an average of 68.57 while striking at 90. He then starred for India in the Champions Trophy and took Punjab Kings into the IPL 2025 playoffs. However, India has a plethora of batting options, and Shreyas’ game has been untested in overseas conditions.
Sarfaraz Khan was perhaps the most unfortunate name to miss out on the India Test squad. He recently shed 10 Kgs in an attempt to get fitter for the England tour. Not being picked for it must sting the 27-year-old.
Sarfaraz has played six Tests, scoring 371 runs at an average of 37 and a strike rate of 75. He has hit one century and three half-centuries in this short stint. Agarkar said it was a tough decision to leave him out as they needed some experience on the side.
“Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic, has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat not there, clearly we’re lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help,“ he said.
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