May 24, 2025: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the team for the eagerly awaited five-match Test series against England on Saturday. Right-hand batsman Shubman Gill has been named the new Test captain for India, and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be his deputy in the longest format.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the team for the much-anticipated five-match Test series against England on Saturday. Right-hand batsman Shubman Gill will be the new Test captain for India, with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant serving as his deputy in the longest format.
The meeting was held at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, and attendees included the Men's Selection Committee and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.
Right-arm seamer Jasprit Bumrah was also thought to be a contender for the Test captaincy, but his chances have recently been hampered by a string of injury issues. Middle-order batsman KL Rahul was another candidate that was in the running, but at 33, his age is thought to be a barrier to a long-term leadership position.
Abhimanyu Easwaran has joined India's Test team. With 101 first-class matches, 7,674 runs at an average of 48.87, 27 hundreds, and 29 fifties under his belt, he has been a mainstay of Bengali domestic cricket. Last year, he had a dismal visit to Australia, scoring only 36 runs in four innings.
A few rising and established players, such as Sai Sudarshan and Karun Nair, have been introduced to the middle-order after Kohli retired from the game's longest format.
As one of the well-known names to fill Virat's enduring hole, Sudarshan has waited his time in India's domestic circuit and established himself as a future all-format prospect.
With his remarkable batting performance, the 23-year-old Tamil Nadu batsman amassed 304 runs at 76.00 in three Ranji Trophy matches, including a century, a fifty, and a double-hundred each. A closer look reveals that Sudharsan has played in 29 First-Class matches, amassed 1,957 runs at an average of almost 40, and glistened with seven hundreds and five half-centuries.
Karun took full use of the opportunity when representing Vidarbha domestically, after pleading for another chance in a poignant tweet in December 2022. Since his last Test in 2017, the man who is only the second Indian to burn his way to a triple hundred has demonstrated classic form and made a strong case for rejoining the Indian squad. With an incredible total of 863 runs in nine matches at 53.93, he finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy last season.
On English soil, the team will be led by right-arm seamer Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling department. The other fast bowlers in the team are Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.
BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar clarified the inclusion of right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami in the squad by stating, "Unfortunately, Shami is not available right now due to fitness issues."
The Indian cricket team is set to tour England in 2025 for a five-match Test series, part of the 2025-2027 ICC World Test Championship. The series will take place from June to August 2025, with matches at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).
This will be India's first bilateral series since both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from Test cricket earlier this month. India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.