Sudharsan In, Kuldeep Out And Thakur Over Reddy: IND's Probable XI For 1st Test Vs ENG

Sudharsan In, Kuldeep Out And Thakur Over Reddy: IND's Probable XI For 1st Test Vs ENG

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Last Updated: June 19, 2025, 13:16 IST

India vs England: With Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin retired, Shubman Gill's team is thin on experience ahead of 1st Test in Leeds.

(From left) Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur (BCCI/PTI)

India Likely Playing XI For 1st Test Against England: Shubman Gill’s Test captaincy reign gets underway in England where India will play a five-match series that starts from Friday. It will also be the beginning of a new era for the team in Test cricket with its top stars retiring ahead of the tour. Ravichandran Ashwin called it quits midway during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy while Rohit Sharma announced Test retirement last month as did Virat Kohli. While Ashwin won’t play for India again, Rohit and Kohli remain available for the ODIs.

The Indian selectors didn’t pick senior pacer Mohammed Shami for the tour as they don’t think he hasn’t built the fitness to go through the rigours of Test cricket.

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With four senior players absent, India’s challenge gets a bit stiffer. However, the squad they’ve picked for the tour is brimming with potential. Not that the touring party is deprived of decent experience. There’s Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant who have been part of the Test setup for some time now.

Then there’s comeback man in Karun Nair who has slammed open the door thanks to solid, consistent performances in domestic cricket. And then there’s the vastly talented top-order batter B Sai Sudharsan who is on his maiden Test tour.

Among the bowlers, Bumrah will be the leader and will have Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and newcomer Arshdeep Singh for company. The team has added another fast bowler to the squad in Harshit Rana for the series opener.

With Rohit retiring, Yashasvi Jaiswal could have a new (regular) opening partner in KL Rahul who has batted at various spots through his career and proven his mettle. On Wednesday, vice-captain Rishabh Pant confirmed that Gill will take Kohli’s No. 4 spot meaning the No.3 spot is also up for grabs.

Either Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sudharsan can fill the vacancy.

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Pant will bat at no.5 and should be followed by Nair at 6, Ravindra Jadeja at 7 with Shardul Thakur getting the nod ahead of Nitish Reddy as the fast-bowling allrounder.

India’s Likely XI for 1st Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

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First Published: June 19, 2025, 13:16 IST

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