Pressure mounts on Shubman Gill as India tour England with inexperienced batting unit

India have announced Shubman Gill as their new Test captain. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara are no longer a part of the Test side. Under Gill, India have entered a new era in Test cricket and a massive challenge awaits them. India are scheduled to tour England for a five-match series, starting 20th June 2025. Shubman Gill might be excited to take over the reins as Test captain but a tour of England isn’t something he would have wanted to start his tenure with.

England is one of the toughest nations for a team to bat and Gill has a relatively inexperienced batting side at his disposal. Among all the batters picked in the squad, only KL Rahul, Gill, and Rishabh Pant have previously played against England in their conditions. Karun Nair is making a long-awaited Test comeback after nine years, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel are set to play Tests in England for the first time in international cricket. On top of that, Shubman Gill’s weakness against the ball coming in to him would be another big worry going into the tour. He averages 42.03 at home but in away conditions, that drops down to 29.50. In 13 away Tests, Gill has scored 649 runs, including one hundred and two half-centuries. 

On the last tour to England, Rohit Sharma was the top run-getter for India with 368 runs in 4 Tests. KL Rahul (315) was second on the list, followed by Cheteshwar Pujara (227) and Virat Kohli (218). Out of the four, only KL Rahul is part of the squad for the upcoming tour and the big question is who will step up to fill the void left by Virat, Pujara, and Rohit. 

For head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill, a massive challenge would be to pick their best batting lineup for the first Test. Given how KL Rahul batted on the last tour of England and in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, it would be ideal to have him open the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jaiswal has made an ominous start to his Test career with 1798 runs in 19 Tests at 52.88. 

He was the highest run-getter for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and, once again, the onus will be on him to do the heavy lifting. Rishabh Pant might not have had a great IPL but Test cricket has been his most successful format. The Indian wicket-keeper batter has a handy experience of playing in England. In nine Tests played in England, Pant has scored 556 runs at an average of 32.70, including two centuries and two fifties. 

Sai Sudharsan has been picked in the squad and pundits are encouraging him to bat at three, followed by Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant at four and five, respectively.  

“When England Lions came Sai Sudharsan did well. We have not picked him because of IPL. He has showed the right away and seems to have the game to succeed at the top level." Agarkar said at the press conference.

“We have been looking at him for a while but there has never been any place in the team," he added. 

For number six in the batting department, they might pick one between Karun Nair and Dhruv Jurel. Karun Nair was sensational in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, amassing 863 runs at an average of 53.93, including four centuries and two half-centuries. India would look to bolster their batting by adding him in the middle order. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is also part of the squad, will lead India A on the tour of England for two Tests.

The management could think of giving him a chance by pushing KL Rahul in the middle-order but chances are slim. A lot will also depend on how players perform for India A and in the intra-squad game before the start of the series. India might not have the most experienced batting unit, but there is no shortage of quality players in the team. How well they cope with the swinging conditions in England remains to be seen.