The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally announced the squad for the five-Test series against England, beginning on June 20. With Rohit Sharma retiring from Test cricket, Shubman Gill has succeeded him, while there was no place for Mohammed Shami. The uncapped players included in the 18-man squad are Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Arshdeep Singh.
Karun Nair is perhaps the biggest inclusion for the tour, having not played a Test since 2017. However, the right-handed batter's strong domestic season has prompted his inclusion. Easwaran has been with the squad for a while now but hasn't been got a game but has a strong first-class record, averaging 48.87 in 101 first-class matches. He is likely to open during the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal in England, taking Rohit's spot at the top.
B Sai Sudharsan, who has been in outstanding form in IPL and Arshdeep, one of the top performers for India in T20Is, are the other two uncapped players. Sudharsan has played only 29 first-class matches since debuting in 2022, while Arshdeep has featured in 21 of them. However, the left-arm seamer played for Kent in the County Championship season in 2023.
Shardul Thakur is yet another candidate making a comeback to the side as is Kuldeep Yadav, having missed the Australia tour due to an injury. He is among the seamers picked for the England tour alongside Arshdeep, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Kuldeep makes up the spin-bowling department along with Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained that Shami was not considered due to fitness issues.
Team India squad:
Shubman Gill (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh
The first of the five Tests begins on June 20 at the Headingley in Leeds. India are targeting their first Test series win on English soil since 2007.
