India vs England: Strongest India playing 11 for the ENG vs IND 1st Test

After the retirements of three senior cricketers in Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the Indian Test team has officially entered the transition period. Things are expected to be really challenging especially in the batting line-up for the newly appointed India Test captain Shubman Gill and the rest of the team management. Shubman will be starting his tenure as the skipper with the upcoming England vs India five-match Test series scheduled to begin with the first Test match from June 20. The Ajit Agarkar-led National Selection Committee named an 18-member Test squad for the England tour on May 24 (Saturday). In this blog post, check out the strongest India playing 11 for the first Test match against England. 

Shubman Gill set to replace Virat Kohli at No.4?

Apart from being an inspirational leader, Rohit Sharma was also a fantastic batter in the longer format of the game as he knew when to attack the bowlers and when to rotate the strike depending upon the situations. It will surely be a huge ask anyone to fill in his shoes. During the India vs England first Test match scheduled to take place in Headingley, the duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are very much likely to open the batting for the visiting Indian team. In India's last Test assignment during the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, Jaiswal was the highest-run getter for the visitors that included a sensational century in the Perth Test while Rahul also batted really well at the top of the order. 

According to multiple reports, one of Sai Sudharsan or Abhimanyu Easwaran are expected to take up the No.3 spot in the Indian batting line-up. However, a lot will depend on the duo's performances in the upcoming India A vs England Lions matches. On the other hand, newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill is very much likely to take Virat Kohli's vacant number four position for this England vs India five Test matches as well as in the long-run. Barring his captaincy duties, Shubman will have to focus on improving overseas batting records and lead this rather inexperienced batting line-up in the challenging English conditions. 

After making a comeback into the Test team after a long span of eight years, Karun Nair is expected to straightaway be drafted into the India playing 11 for the first Test match in England. Nair has worked really hard, scoring tons of runs in the domestic circuit across the three formats of the game and moreover, he also has the experience of playing County Cricket in England. India's vice-captain Rishabh Pant will be batting at No.6 in this line-up and he will definitely be high on confidence after scoring that wonderful hundred against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the last league match of Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) season. The trio of KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant will have to take the extra responsibility in this transition period for India in the longest format of the game. 

Despite picking as many as three spinners in the 18-member squad namely Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav, only one of these will get a slot in the India playing XI during majority of the games in England due to the conditions assisting the pacers to a great extent. Jadeja will be starting as the lone specialist spinner in the opening Test match against England as he can contribute amazingly with the bat as well. The Indian team management can also take the punt and play Sundar as the only spinner in the side ahead of Kuldeep and Jadeja. 

After not being given any of the leadership duties, speedster Jasprit Bumrah will spearhead the Indian fast bowling attack alongside the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep. During the first Test against England, the trio of Bumrah, Siraj and Prasidh are likely to start in the India playing XI with Shardul as the seam-bowling all-rounder. 

Strongest India Playing 11 for England tour

KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj. 

India Test squad for England tour

Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC) (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav