ENG vs IND: 10 talking points from India's squad announcement for the England Test tour
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced an 18-member India squad for the upcoming Test series against England on Saturday, May 24. Agarkar held the press conference for the squad announcement at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
The squad announcement was making a lot of buzz and headlines as it marks the beginning of a new era of Indian Test cricket after the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin. Rohit and Kohli pulled the curtains on their Test careers before the England series, while Ashwin bid adieu to international cricket midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Let’s take a look at 10 key takeaways from India’s Test squad announcement for England tour.
The biggest news from India’s squad announcement for the England Test series was the appointment of Shubman Gill as the new Test captain. The 25-year-old succeeded Rohit Sharma, who led from the side from 2022 to 2024. Gill was the front–runner to take up captaincy duties despite being in contention with KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah for the role. The selectors and team India management seemingly backed Gill due to his temperament and long term potential to lead India through a transition in red-ball cricket.
As Shubman Gill was appointed as Team India Test captain, Rishabh Pant has been appointed as the vice-captain in Tests. Pant has been part of the leadership group over the last few years and for the first time he has received a leadership role in Tests, having previously captained India in T20Is. With Gill and Pant as India’s Test captain and vice-captain, respectively, it marks the beginning of a fresh leadership core that is expected to take the team through a crucial transition phase in the post-Rohit-Kohli era.
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar has addressed the Test retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, stating that ‘big shoes to fill’ while hailing them as ‘stalwarts’ of Indian cricket along with Ravichandran Ashwin, who bid adieu to his international career after the Gabba Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Agarkar further revealed that that Kohli reached out to him in April with his decision to retire from Test cricket.
Gujarat Titans opener Sai Sudharsan and Punjab Kings pacer Arshdeep Singh received maiden Test call-ups for the upcoming Test series against England. Sudharsan was touted to be selected to the India squad, given his impressive performance in the ongoing IPL season and his experience of playing in England conditions during his stint with Sussex. Arshdeep, on the other hand, was too on the selectors’ radar as the back-up option in the pace bowling unit. The Punjab Kings pacer is already part of the T20I and ODI setup.
One of the biggest developments from the India squad for the England tour is the return of Vidarbha batter Karun Nair to the Team India squad after a gap of eight years. Nair was out of the selectors radar after he dropped from Test squad following his historic triple against England in the Chennai Test. However, the 34-year-old put up impressive performances in the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, prompting the selectors to reward his domestic consistency with Test recall.
Jasprit Bumrah is expected to lead Team India pace bowling attack, but he is unlikely to play all the five Tests of the series against England, as confirmed by Agarkar at the press conference. The chief selector also cited the workload management and injury concerns as the reason not to give Test captaincy to Bumrah.
“More important to us as a player. Once you’re managing people, there’s a lot that takes out of you. We’ve had a chat with him, he’s okay with it. He knows where his body’s at. With Booms, it was more about his workload management.” Agarkar said.
KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are expected to be the new opening pair for Team India in Tests, especially for the upcoming series against England. Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma were opening partners over the last one year, but after the retirement of the latter, the team management has seemingly backed Rahul to partner Jaiswal at the top, given his experience in overseas conditions and past success as Test opener. After captain and vice-captain’s names, the third name on the squad list is KL Rahul, which indicates the team’s intent to utilise him as a frontline opener.
The return of Shardul Thakur to Team India Test squad after a year has bolstered the options for the team’s seam-bowling all-rounder slot, especially in England conditions, where his ability to swing the ball and contribute with the bat down the order can be crucial for Team India. He played a pivotal role in Mumbai’s 42nd Ranji Trophy triumph last year. Thakur’s last appearance in the format was in the Centurion Test against South Africa in December 2023.
After Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket, the No.4 position in the batting order has been left vacant. It was reported that Shubman Gill is likely to take up one of the crucial spots in the batting line-up. However, chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that the committee has left the decision to head coach Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill.
“I think GG (Gautam Gambhir) and Shubman (Gill) might take a call on that once they get there,” he said.
Indian veteran pacer Mohammed Shami has been excluded from the Test squad as the selectors picked Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Speaking about Shami’s exclusion, Ajit Agarkar stated that the BCCI medical team declared him unfit to play the Test series against England.
“He’s been trying to get fit for the series ... but I think he’s had a little bit of a setback over the last week or so, and he’s got some MRIs done. And like you mentioned, I don’t think he was going to be able to play five Tests. At the moment, I don’t think his workload is where it needs to be, so it’s just the medical guys who’ve told us that he’s been ruled out of this series." the chief selector said.