India kick off their ICC World Test Championship 2025 campaign with a five-match Test series against England. The Test series starts just a week after South Africa were crowned the new WTC champions at Lord's.
This is a new dawn for the Indian Test team led by Shubman Gill. He was named the new captain of the side with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from the format. Previously, Ravichandran Ashwin also announced his retirement from Test cricket back in Australia.
With Shubman Gill as captain, Rishabh Pant has been named as his deputy. The Indian squad has already been named for the series. Meanwhile, in the pre-match presser Pant has confirmed that Gill will bat at four in the lineup. The southpaw further said that he will bat at five. However, there are still spots up for grabs in the playing XI with the opening slot not settled after Rohit's retirement. There is also an open spot at number three and number six.
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Likely India Playing XI For First Test vs England
In this article, we predict India's likely playing XI for the first Test against England at Headingley starting from June 20.
- Top Order
After Rohit Sharma's retirement, one of the opening spots is up for grabs. While Yashasvi Jaiswal is sure to open, the management is pondering about the other option. They have choices in KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sudharshan. However, given that Easwaran and Sai are yet to make their Test debut, it will be ideal for someone like KL Rahul to open with Jaiswal. He has previously opened in England and also scored a century. Besides, that the duo added a few key partnerships in Australia.
- Middle Order
With Pant declaring that Gill will bat at four and he at five in the pre-match press conference, the number three slot is up for grabs as well. Here as well the options are in plenty. The two best options are Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair. Nair recently had a good outing for India A against England Lions where he scored a double ton in the unofficial Test match and he is expected to bat at three followed by Gill at four and Pant at five. Dhruv Jurel can bat at number six as a specialist batter in the lineup.
- All-Rounders
India are likely to play two all-rounders in Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja. One is a seam-bowling all-rounder while the other is a spin-bowling all-rounder. Shardul has done enough in the warm-up games to possibly get the nod ahead of Nitish Kumar Reddy who is still an unfinished product in Test cricket. Besides India are looking for field an experienced side and Shardul is the experienced of the two. Jadeja has always been the preferred spin-bowling option whenever India have played overseas. Besides, he bats well lower down the order giving his team the much-needed batting depth.
- Bowlers
India have as many as six specialist pacers after Harshit Rana was added to the squad ahead of the first Test. The management might look to field three specialist pacers with Shardul likely to chip in as the fourth seamer. Jasprit Bumrah will lead the attack with Mohammed Siraj for company. To change things up a bit and to create a different angle, they can hand a debut to Arshdeep Singh who has played county cricket in England before and can swing the new ball as well.
India's Probable Playing XI for First Test vs England
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Also Read: England Announce Playing XI for First Test vs India: Chris Woakes Returns, Jacob Bethell Misses Out
