Team India test squad for England tour announced - Gill captain , comeback for Karun Nair , Sai , Arshdeep selected

 

Team India is set to tour England next month for a highly anticipated five-match Test series, which will be part of the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle. The BCCI has officially announced the Indian squad for this crucial tour. With the recent retirements of stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin from Test cricket, this marks the beginning of a new era for the Indian Test team — and the appointment of a new captain.

Under the leadership of chief selector Ajit Agarkar, the selection committee has picked a young and promising Indian side for the England tour. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhimanyu Easwaran are expected to take on the responsibility as openers. Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair have been slotted into the middle order, with the possibility of filling the crucial No. 4 position left vacant by Kohli’s absence. Rishabh Pant has been named vice-captain and will play a vital role both behind the stumps and in the middle order. Dhruv Jurel has been selected as the backup wicketkeeper.

In a notable development, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has earned his maiden call-up to the Test squad therefore getting the benefit of county cricket experience . Shardul Thakur has also made his way back into the Test setup due to his swing bowling which may help him in England like in the 2021 series . However, seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami has not been included among the 18 players — a surprising omission. Similarly, both Shreyas Iyer & Sarfaraz Khan have also been left out.  Sarfraz made runs in last England home series & scored a 100 vs New Zealand though failed in subsequent tests . Shreyas had a great domestic season . The fast-bowling attack will be led by Jasprit Bumrah, supported by Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Akash Deep.

One promising fast bowler who missed out is Ansul Kambhoj . He has had a couple of good domestic seasons and looks a good prospect but the selectors decided to retain Akashdeep who had an average series in Australia .

Its a great comeback story for Karun Nair who returns to the test fold after 8 long years . His stellar domestic seasons and his county cricket experience has tilted the scales in his favour . Also he will add some experience & solidity in the Indian lineup . 

However is Shubman Gill selection as Indian captain a sound decision ?  Gill is one of the more promising Indian batters but his test returns so far in Australia, England has left much to be desired . Hence the new captain may have an additional burden of trying to prove that he can bat in tough overseas conditions . Rishabh Pant , the wicketkeeper & now vice captain  was a decent option & Pant being the keeper , can actually judge with his keeping whether the fast bowlers are tiring or not & that can help in decision making on bowling changes . 

KL Rahul who did well in Australia as the opener and also did well in England as opener in 2021 could have been another good option as  captain with his calm demeanor for Test match cricket .

Of course Bumrah would have been a great option as captain after leading the team so well in Perth & Sydney tests down under but his injury concerns & load management acts as a hindrance for giving captaincy to Bumrah .

Team India squad for England Test series

Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.