India vs England: Sudharsan gets maiden cap, Shardul in India Playing XI for opening Test

The anticipation and plethora of speculations have come to an end as India officially kick off their new Test era. Shubman Gill walked out as India's captain at the toss of the opening India vs England Test, joining Ben Stokes. Gill's captaincy stint kicked off with the coin spinning out of his favour at Leeds, Headingley. Ben Stokes put the visitors to bat first as the conditions at the venue beamed brightly with no sight of clouds in the sky. The pitch looks a bit on the drier side with a subtle grass cover, but the initial phase is likely to witness some swing movement. Meanwhile, Sai Sudharsan is set to earn his Test debut, named in the India Playing XI for the opening Test.

India Playing XI for the first India vs England Test at Leeds

The England Playing XI was announced two days in advance of the India vs England opener at Leeds. India, however, kept the majority of developments undercover, with the batting order being the most thrilling aspect about this new team. The newly appointed vice-captain, Rishabh Pant, had earlier confirmed his spot in the batting order. Shubman Gill, who batted at three when Virat Kohli followed him in the lineup, has claimed the fourth spot in India's Test batting order. India's new Test skipper has vacated the third spot for the young Sai Sudharsan, as confirmed at toss by Gill himself.

#TeamIndia's Playing XI for the 1st Test 🙌

Sai Sudharsan makes his Test Debut 👏👏

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/CuzAEnBkyu#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/r4UkgH2pZ4

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 20, 2025

With Sai Sudharsan slotted at three and Pant at five, Karun Nair has been assigned the sixth position in India's combination for the opening fixture at Leeds. As anticipated, KL Rahul will open for India along with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Meanwhile, Shardul Thakur has eluded Nitish Kumar Reddy to hold a spot in the India Playing XI for the first Test. The pace all-rounder walks into the lineup at the back of impressive stints for India A against England Lions and the intra-squad match recently.

Harshit Rana, who was added late into the India squad for the first Test, has been sat on the bench. The visitors' bowling lineup for the opening India vs England match includes Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. The pace attack deepens with Prasidh Krishna and Shardul in the combination. Ravindra Jadeja stays the sole spinner in the lineup. 

India Playing XI for the opening India vs England Test
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (w), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

England Playing XI
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (w), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir