India have roped in multiple new faces for the England series beginning on June 20
India will have several new faces in their squad when they travel to England for the five-match Test series beginning on June 20.
While the likes of Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur are making a long-awaited return to the side, Arshdeep Singh, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan have been called up to the main squad for the first time.
The three newcomers have all had experience playing in England previously – Easwaran with India ‘A’ on previous tours, Arshdeep Singh with county side Kent and Sai Sudharsan with Surrey.
Sudharsan has earned his call-up on the back of an impressive Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 with Gujarat Titans where he scored 679 runs from 14 matches at a strike rate of 155.37.
Sudharsan’s case for selection only got stronger after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from red-ball cricket, leaving big shoes to fill in the top-order.
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While many have praised the young left-hander’s technique as suitable for the longest format, former Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni felt that it is not enough to face swing and seam in overcast English conditions.
Kulkarni had coached Sudharsan in the 2023-24 domestic season, said that the youngster had failed to score runs on seaming pitches which needs technical adjustments in order to succeed overseas.
He also pointed at the southpaw’s First-Class record – 29 matches, 1,957 runs which includes seven hundreds and five fifties.
“His domestic record is not great. When I was the coach, I saw him play on a seaming track in at least two matches. And he didn’t play well there. His technique against the moving ball needs to improve,” Kulkarni said in a chat with Times Of India.
“He has a tendency of playing away from the body while the secret of success in England is to play late and play the ball right under your nose. He has to curb some of his strokes and should play straight and close to the body. He has to work to get the technique right before the tour,” he further explained.
Sudharsan has also been named in the India ‘A’ squad led by Abhimanyu Easwaran and will most likely play the intra-squad game set to be played in Beckenham from June 13-16.
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