The five-match series will commence on June 20.
India is set to begin the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2025-27 with the upcoming overseas tour in England. With this, India will also witness the start of a new era in red-ball cricket following the recent retirements of former captain Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma. A new and young India squad will be led by the youngster Shubman Gill alongside vice-captain Rishabh Pant.
Recently retired all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has backed the 25-year-old ahead of his Test captaincy debut against England. Previously, Gill has led his state Punjab in five First-Class matches and currently leads his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans. He has also captained India in a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe last year.
Ashwin felt that the youngster has already been showered with so much liability. He emphasised the importance of a solid start to his individual performance in this tour to take the leadership pressure away from him.
“I think he is already too overwhelmed by the attention and responsibility he has got. If I was in his place with such a high-pressure job, I would want to have a very good start as a batsman,” he said in a RevSportz interview.
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Furthermore, the 38-year-old pointed out the difficult batting conditions in England. But if he manages to score well, it will also boost his confidence and reflect on his leadership, he opined. However, Gill will also want to better his stats on English soil which currently reads only 88 runs in three matches at an average of 14.66.
“As a batter, he will have his share of questions on his place, as England can be a very tough place to bat. But if he makes runs, runs will give confidence and that would in turn rub on to captaincy. He is a very special player, and I hope he gets off to a very good start to avoid any questions raised,” explained Ashwin.
The veteran India player also disagreed with the recent criticism over Pant’s shot selection. He believes that it is the natural game of the 27-year-old. Ashwin also banked on the southpaw and stated that “it’s only a matter of time” for Pant to become more consistent in his selection of shots.
“Fantastic Test batter with a questionable choice of shots sometimes but I guess he comes with it and he gives you match-winning knocks. It’s only a matter of time when he finds out the formula and rectifies it to become more consistent,” he added.
However, the five-match tour will commence on June 20, in Headingley. It will be followed by four matches on Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford and Kennington Oval, respectively.
Team India has started playing a four-day intra-squad match with India A as the final preparation ahead of the England series. Previously, they also played two unofficial Tests against the England Lions. However, both matches resulted in a draw. Skipper Gill, who missed the Test against the England Lions, put up a brilliant fifty-plus score in that match. KL Rahul also continued his purple patch and followed up his 116-run knock in the second match with a half-century last night.
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