ENG vs IND | Gill appointed Test captain with Pant as deputy in 18-man squad for five-Test tour

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Friday announced the 18-man squad that will travel to England in June for a marquee five-match Test series beginning June 20 in Headingley, with the final encounter scheduled for July 31 at The Oval. The team will be led by 25-year-old Shubman Gill, making him the 36th man to lead India in Test cricket, with Rishabh Pant as his vice-captain.

The batting unit comprises of incumbents Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul with Dhruv Jurel and Abhimanyu Easwaran retaining their spots in the squad from India's last Test assignment, the Border-Gavaskar series Down Under in 2024/25. The two new additions to the contingent are Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair, the former earning his maiden call up while Nair returns to the Test set-up for the first time since 2017.

The big questions will be who takes over the vacant spots of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli who announced their retirements ahead of the tour. Sudharsan, who has experience playing in India courtesy of a couple of stints with defending champions Surrey in the County, is likely to go head-to-head with India A captain Easwaran during the two tour games ahead of the Test for the opening slot, unless Rahul is selected for the job. As for the middle-order roles, Jurel already has four Test appearances under his belt including one as a specialist batter and is the frontrunner to fit into the side ahead of Nair, despite the latter's stellar domestic campaign.

Washington Sundar, on the fringes for years now, is now the only specialist off-spinner in the squad after Ravichandran Ashwin's retirement. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are the other two members of the spin department, the latter returning to the squad after missing the tour Down Under with injury. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur are the two pace all-rounders, the former impressing on his debut tour in Australia but Shardul has four Tests under his belt in England.

The pace unit comprises of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh. Bumrah was the highest wicket-taker across both teams the last time India toured England and was a firm contender for the captaincy slot too having filled in for Rohit last year, but the quick reached an agreement to forego the opportunity owing to workload management. With Mohammed Shami a notable miss due to injury, Krishna's standout IPL season might help him claim the third seamer's spot, albeit Arshdeep's left-arm variation would be tempting too and might see the youngster earn a cap on his maiden Test tour. 

India's squad for England Tests: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc/wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, 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