ICC World Test Championship
On the afternoon of 24th May, the 18 member Indian Test Squad for the upcoming English tour has been announced by the BCCI. Headed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, the squad is headlined by the newly announced red-ball captain Shubman Gill and his deputy vice-captain and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. The squad also includes a call-up for middle order batsman Karun Nair after a long hiatus and a fresh inclusion of the Tamil Nadu southpaw Sai Sudharsan. Below is the whole squad announced for the visit to England next month:
Batters: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant (vc), Dhruv Jurel
Allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Nitish Kr. Reddy
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
Gill as Captain
Ever since Rohit Sharma announced his Test retirement last month, there has been several indications hinting at Shubman Gill to be the next red ball captain of India. There were other candidates of course: Jasprit Bumrah (captained India on the last tour of Australia in Rohit's absence), Rishabh Pant (the current vice captain), KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja in some circles as well. So what has worked in Gill's favor. Here is what Ajit Agarkar was quoted saying at the press conference of the squad announcement, "We discussed every option that’s there, over the last year or so, we’ve looked at Shubman at various times. Taken a lot of feedback from the dressing room. Very young, but there’s been improvement. We’re hopeful he’s the guy. He’s a terrific player, our best wishes to him."
"You don’t pick captains for one tour or two tours. We’ve seen some progress over the last year or two with him. No doubt it’s going to be as tough as it gets."
Shubman Gill has only captained in five First-class matches until now. The record for other contenders also lie on similar lines though with Bumrah being captain for India in four tests, Rahul captaining India in three tests, Pant and Jadeja never captained in red ball cricket.
This year however, Gill has captained his IPL Team Gujarat Titans very strongly towards the top spot in the league stages so far. There is also another question mark about Gill's batting ability overseas. His batting average of 25.4 with only two 50+ scores in Australia raises serious doubts about his ability to cope against tough swing and seam bowling conditions outside subcontinent.
Questions were raised about Bumrah not being appointed the next captain but Agarkar confirmed he will not be playing all five tests due to workload management, “Don’t think he’ll be available for all five Tests. Whether it’s four or three, we’ll see based on how the series goes and his workload is. Even if he’s fit for 3-4 Tests, he’ll be an asset for us. Just happy he’s part of the squad.”
The thing to note in Bumrah's case is also the fact that after the Sydney Test where he injured himself, he was on the sidelines for almost four months missing the ICC Champions Trophy in March as well as early part of this year's IPL. With his body building up to the rigors of red-ball cricket again, it is crucial for him to stay fit throughout the course of the English tour as his primary weapon his Bowling is crucial to India's chances of challenging the hosts.
Recall for Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur
It has been 8 years since Karun Nair last played for India in the whites. Popular for being only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag (who did it twice) to score a 300 in Tests, Nair was mysteriously dropped from the squad after just four months of that historic knock only to be recalled back now after a strong showing in the domestic circuit for Vidharbha with 863 runs in the Ranji trophy with an average of 53.94 scoring four hundreds and guiding them to their third Ranji trophy title this year. He was also the highest scorer in the Vijay Hazare trophy (India's premier List A competition) last year with 779 runs at a whopping average of 398.5 scoring five hundreds including four in a row. The hard yards put in the domestic circuit over the years by Karun Nair has finally been rewarded by the selectors giving him a place for the tour to the English shores. Also making a return in the red ball team is the 33-year old all rounder Shardul Thakur who last played for India in December 2023. Shardul scored 505 runs at a batting average of 42.08 and taking 35 wickets at a bowling average of 22.63 in this year's Ranji Trophy. Batting at 8 for Mumbai, he played a number of savior innings after the top order did had fallen early which includes a swashbuckling hundred against J&K as well as four half centuries. He also took a 6-58 against Haryana in the Quarter Final with a man of the Match performance thus marking a return to the Indian squad for the tour of England where he has played a few match saving knocks on the last tour in 2021. Inclusion of Sai and the top five conundrum
India has included the uncapped and highly rated batsman Sai Sudharsan despite a modest First Class record of 1957 at an average of 39.93. Currently on top of the run scoring charts in the IPL for Gujarat Titans, Sai has been earmarked as someone who has an excellent technique with a solid temperament making him a perfect fit for the challenging English conditions where Indian middle order has historically struggled. What has worked in his favor is also the fact that he turned out for Surrey, the English County champions in 2023 and 2024 seasons for a total of 5 matches each in both those title runs amid middling returns of 281 runs at an average of 35.13 including a century last year against Nottinghamshire. He has also earned plaudits for his solid performances for India A including centuries against England Lions and Australia A in Australia.
With Sai and Nair in the squad now, there are chances of either one of them slotting at No. 4 with KL and Jaiswal touted to open and Gill at three. One potential change could also include Gill dropping to 4, Nair at 3 and Sai at 5. However, the proper outlook of the batting order will only be shaped after India completes their four day match against India A. One important thing to note here is that this is India's first red ball assignment since the retirements of Rohit and Virat.
Another "travelling reserve", Abhimanyu Easwaran has been travelling with the India A and India squads for a long time without being given an opportunity to debut for the national team. The Bengal opener boasts a credible average of 49 scoring over 7600 hundred runs in 101 FC matches with 27 centuries. However his recent India A performances have been below par. India can still look at him as a resolute opening partner for the dynamic Jaiswal pushing Rahul at No. 5. The fast bowling battery and exclusion of Shami
Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed that Mohammed Shami is still not fit enough to make a comeback to the whites of India: “His workload is not what it needs to be…at the moment he is not fit.” Shami was part of the 50 over Champions Trophy squad recently and also played a few Ranji games for Bengal this year however his fitness does not look anywhere near the dangerous Shami of 2023.
The squad still contains five proper fast bowlers with Shardul and Nitish being the all round options. One notable exclusion from the tour Down-under last year is Harshit Rana who only impressed in the first innings of Perth with his raw pace and short bowling technique and has been replaced by the tall left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh. Harshit is part of the India A squad that will play England Lions for two red ball matches before the India- England Test match series starts. Arshdeep has so far played 21 FC matches picking up 66 wickets at an average of 30.37 and a SR of 56.9. Just like Sai, Arshdeep also has an experience of playing County cricket with Kent in 2023 where he played 5 matches and picked up 13 wickets at a poor average of 41.77.
The expected starters are supposed to be Bumrah and Siraj with one of Thakur or Nitish to take the fast bowling allrounder spot. The third fast bowling spot will be up for grabs in the warm up game that India plays against India A. The Unlucky ones
The first name that comes to mind is obviously Sarfaraz Khan. Sitting at a batting average of 65+ in FC cricket, he has already scored an eventful 150 in test cricket at Chinnaswamy against New Zealand. However, his services were considered surplus during the Australian tour where he was part of the squad but did not play a single game. This time though he has been dropped in favor of Sai Sudharsan. Should have played a bit of County cricket, right?
Another name that comes to mind is that of the swashbuckling Shreyas Iyer. Although considered a long shot given that he hasn't played for India in red ball cricket since early 2024, he did have an impressive Ranji season scoring 480 runs at an average of almost 69 with a highest of 233. Also considered by many as the natural successor to captain India in 50 over cricket after Rohit, Agarkar confirmed that he is not in India's red ball plans right now.
Harsh Dubey? The highest wicket taker in this season's Ranji Trophy with 69 wickets at a brilliant average of 16.99, but it's too early to call up a rookie spinner to a squad to play in English conditions which traditionally doesn't favor spinners too much (last season Shoaib Bashir averaged 36 during English home summer. Although he has just taken a 9-fer against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. Dubey will have to wait for his chances during the home Tests although another good red ball season and performances for India A will always enhance his chances. Conclusion
Every time a tour to England is followed by IPL, you always see a bit of a T20 mixture translated to the red ball squad. Case in point this time being the selection of Sai and the captaincy of Gill. Although to their credit, the selectors have tried to maintain as much consistency as they can given the resources at their disposal.
Ajit Agarkar's tenure as a chief selector has already seen India prosper in white ball with two ICC titles and another 50-over World Cup finish as runner-ups. But the success has not translated towards the red ball with India not playing the WTC final for the first time in three cycles. This time, the task is even tougher with the major retirements in recent times and a transition coming too quickly for this young bunch of players. Can this team win the elusive away series against Ben Stokes' England which the country has been waiting patiently since the Rahul Dravid-led 2007 triumph? Only time will tell. My playing XI
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill (c), Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk) (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh (left-arm angle)/Kuldeep Yadav (5th Test)
India tour of England
Warm up Match: 13th to 16th June, Beckenham
1st Test: 20th to 24th June, Headingley
2nd Test: 02nd to 6th July, Edgabaston
3rd Test: 10th to 14th July, Lord's
4th Test: 23rd to 27th July, Old Trafford
5th Test: 31st July to 04th August, The Oval
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