The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced a 18-member squad for a five-match away Test series against England, a first bilateral series in over several years without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. With Shubman Gill set to lead the Indian team, as it enters a sort of transition phase without an experienced top order, India would be keen to shake off the jitters of losses against Australia and New Zealand. The month-long series begins on Jun 24, 2025 and is a part of the 2025-2027 ICC World Test Championship. The series will have matches at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord’s (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).The team also sees comeback of old faces like Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur ready to make their mark on the English soil. Sai Sudarshan, meanwhile, has received his maiden call. Notably, Shreyas Iyer has not been included in the squad and so is the case with young pacer Harshit Rana and batsman Sarfaraz Khan.Full Squad:India’s squad for the five-match Test series against England includes: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.Also Read: Shubman Gill to succeed Rohit Sharma as India’s 37th Test captain- A look at his record-breaking journeyIndia’s path to Test recoveryWith India entering a transitional phase, selectors along with head coach Gautam Gambhir have opted for a mix of experience and new talent in both the batting and bowling departments.Right-arm seamer Jasprit Bumrah, who was also considered for the leadership role, will spearhead the pace attack. However, recurring injury concerns ruled him out of contention for captaincy. Moreover, selector Ajit Agarkar has said that the pace spearhead won’t be available for all five Tests against England.Also Read: India Test Captain Full List- From CK Nayudu to Shubman Gill- A look at all 37 Indian Test skippers since 1932Mohammed Shami is not added to the squad due to fitness concerns. In Shami’s absence, the pace unit includes new faces like Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh alongside Bumrah.Middle-order options to fill the void left by Kohli include Karun Nair, and Sai Sudarshan. Sudarshan, 23, impressed in the Ranji Trophy with 304 runs from three matches at an average of 76, including a double-century, a ton, and a fifty. He has scored 1,957 runs in 29 First-Class games with seven centuries.Karun Nair, who last played a Test in 2017, made a notable return with Vidarbha, finishing as the fourth-highest scorer in the Ranji season with 863 runs from nine games at an average of 53.93.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced a 18-member squad for a five-match away Test series against England, a first bilateral series in over several years without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. With Shubman Gill set to lead the Indian team, as it enters a sort of transition phase without an experienced top order, India would be keen to shake off the jitters of losses against Australia and New Zealand. The month-long series begins on Jun 24, 2025 and is a part of the 2025-2027 ICC World Test Championship. The series will have matches at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord’s (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).The team also sees comeback of old faces like Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur ready to make their mark on the English soil. Sai Sudarshan, meanwhile, has received his maiden call. Notably, Shreyas Iyer has not been included in the squad and so is the case with young pacer Harshit Rana and batsman Sarfaraz Khan.Full Squad:India’s squad for the five-match Test series against England includes: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.Also Read: Shubman Gill to succeed Rohit Sharma as India’s 37th Test captain- A look at his record-breaking journeyIndia’s path to Test recoveryWith India entering a transitional phase, selectors along with head coach Gautam Gambhir have opted for a mix of experience and new talent in both the batting and bowling departments.Right-arm seamer Jasprit Bumrah, who was also considered for the leadership role, will spearhead the pace attack. However, recurring injury concerns ruled him out of contention for captaincy. Moreover, selector Ajit Agarkar has said that the pace spearhead won’t be available for all five Tests against England.Also Read: India Test Captain Full List- From CK Nayudu to Shubman Gill- A look at all 37 Indian Test skippers since 1932Mohammed Shami is not added to the squad due to fitness concerns. In Shami’s absence, the pace unit includes new faces like Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh alongside Bumrah.Middle-order options to fill the void left by Kohli include Karun Nair, and Sai Sudarshan. Sudarshan, 23, impressed in the Ranji Trophy with 304 runs from three matches at an average of 76, including a double-century, a ton, and a fifty. He has scored 1,957 runs in 29 First-Class games with seven centuries.Karun Nair, who last played a Test in 2017, made a notable return with Vidarbha, finishing as the fourth-highest scorer in the Ranji season with 863 runs from nine games at an average of 53.93. Economic Times
