Jasprit Bumrah IN, Rohit Sharma OUT! Shubman Gill Captain: India's Likely Squad For 5 Test Series vs England (Source: AP)
Indian cricket team will return to Test cricket in June 2025 when they take on England in a five-match Test series. India failed to qualify for the World Test Championship final after losing back-to-back series to New Zealand and Australia. The team would eye a winning start to the next cycle but the England tour won't be easy by any means. The India squad could be very different to what they played in Australia.
There are significant doubts if Rohit Sharma would continue playing Test cricket. Rohit dropped himself from the final Test against Australia after a string of low scores in the format. Virat Kohli is also a doubtful starter, however, his form in the ICC Champions Trophy has been great and that could pave the way for his inclusion in the XI. In Rohit misses out, India will have to find a replacement for the opener. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the primary openers in the absence of Rohit while Abhimanyu Easwaran could be the backup.
If Gill is promoted to opening, India will need a number three batter. India could consider Cheteshwar Pujara who has been scoring runs consistently. The team missed him during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. If not, they will probably ask KL Rahul to open with Jaiswal and Gill will bat at three. Virat Kohli will be the number four batter. Rishabh Pant will be the specialist wicketkeeper batter, with Dhruv Jurel as keeper. Sarfaraz Khan might be dropped without getting fair opportunities. India could add fresh faces like Tilak Varma or Ruturaj Gaikwad in the Test team. Nitish Reddy should be a certain starter given his performance in Australia.
Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Washington Sundar could be the spinners, while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana, and Mohammed Siraj will take charge of the fast bowling unit. Bumrah is the front-runner to take over India's test captaincy but his fitness is a concern which is why India could consider giving the role to someone like Shubman Gill.
India's Predicted Squad For England Tour: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana
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