India have announced a new-look 18-member squad for the upcoming Test series against England, starting on 20 June 2025. Shubman Gill, who has been selected as the new Test captain, makes the squad along with Yashavi Jaiswal, and vice-captain Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel join as wicket-keepers. However, Mohammed Shami is not in the squad due to fitness issues. (Live Blog)
India’s Test Squad For England Tour 2025
Indias Squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
The upcoming tour of England is a crucial one for India, as it marks the beginning of the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The Men in Blue finished third in the previous cycle, missing out on the WTC final after back-to-back appearances in the last two years.
With stalwarts like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma bringing down the curtains on their Test careers, the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir has selected a new-look team, led by youngsters such as Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Several players who were on the fringe of the Test squad have made the cut, likely due to their good form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
One player to make a long-awaited comeback is Karun Nair, who is returning to the Indian squad after eight years. Similarly, Abhumanyu Easwaran is in line to make his national-team debut at the age of 29, after some terrific performances in First Class cricket.
One big name to miss out from the squad is Mohammed Shami, with Agarkar saying that the bowler suffered an injury setback a week earlier, and “his workload isn’t where it needs to be.”
Meanwhile, the bowling attack, despite suffering from recent injury issues, will need to be on top to counter an England side that has dominated Zimbabwe during the ongoing one-off Test match at Trent Bridge.
The Three Lions are scheduled to face first-time finalists South Africa in the WTC final at Lord’s on 11 June, and will have momentum on their side ahead of hosting India on their home soil.
