India Test squad announcement Live Updates: Indian team for England announced, Gill named captain

Ajit Agarkar on why Karun Nair was picked.

"Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test and then didn't get runs. Sometimes it's decisions the team management takes. At the moment, Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic, has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat not there, clearly we're lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help," he said.

"Don't think he'll be available for all five Tests. Whether it's four or three, we'll see based on how the series goes and his workload is. Even if he's fit for 3-4 Tests, he'll be an asset for us. Just happy he's part of the squad," Agarkar said. "More important to us a player. Once you're managing people, there's a lot that takes out of you. We've had a chat with him, he's okay with it. He knows where his body's at. KL not really, he's captained a while back, he's a quality player and hope he has a big series. With Booms, it was more about his workload management," on why he was not named VC.

"When guys like that retire, always big holes to fill. Ashwin also retired. Those three have been stalwarts. Always difficult. One way of looking at it is, opportunity for someone else. Had conversations with both of them. Virat reached out early April, seem him give 200% every ball he plays even when he's not batting or on the field. Felt he'd given everything he had, if he can't keep up to the standards it was time for him. It's come from him. Have to respect that. They've earned that respect."

"We discussed every option that's there, over the last year or so, we've looked at Shubman at various times. Taken a lot of feedback from the dressing room. Very young, but there's been improvement. We're hopeful he's the guy. He's a terrific player, our best wishes to him. You don't pick captains for one tour or two tours. We've seen some progress over the last year or two with him. No doubt it's going to be as tough as it gets."

Agarkar reveals that Shami has not built workload as required for the series and this is the reason he has not been picked in the team.

Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (VC), Jaiswal, Rahul, Sai, Abhimanyu, Karun Nair, Nitish, Jadeja, Jurel (wk), Sundar, Shardul, Bumrah, Siraj, Prasidh, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav

The squad announcement is underway.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saika has left the meeting and the PC is about to begin.

Jasprit Bumrah will be leading the pace attack. Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep might get a nod. Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur are also in the running.

While Shubman Gill is set to be named captain, another question is who shall be the VC. The options are Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah.

The squad announcement is right around the corner! The press conference begins at 1:30 pm as many wait in anticipation to see who will lead the Indian team in Tests going forward.

It is worth noting that India's upcoming tour of England will be the start of the new World Test Championship (2025-27) cycle, and with five Tests between the two teams, both will be looking to get off to a good start in the new cycle.

The meeting between the BCCI selectors and secretary Devajit Saika is underway. The squad is set to be announced at 1:30 PM. We are not much away from now.

Kiran More is doubtful of whether Pant will got to England or not. "I don't know whether they are taking Rishabh Pant or not. Just see the India A squad, Dhruv Jurel and Ishan Kishan are both there," More says.

Former selector Kiran More has picked his spin options. He picks Washington, Kuldeep, and Jadeja as his three spinners. He reasons that as England have many left-handers, these three spinners should be picked.

You are going to need 3-4 openers on this tour because you are playing in England. I don't expect any miracles on this tour because I think India are going to struggle. I think India will take two years to make a good Test team

Former selector Kiran More has questioned head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar's tactics of not preparing for the transition phase. "They have suddenly woken up. Now they are saying who will be the next captain. They should have prepared. We didn't prepare for the past 1.5 years, and now this is a big wake-up call for us. You never thought about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's retirement," he said on JioHotstar.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has arrived at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai for the meeting.

1st Test: June 20–24, Leeds

2nd Test: July 2–6, Birmingham

3rd Test: July 10–14, London (Lord's)

4th Test: July 23–27, Manchester

5th Test: July 31 – August 4, Kennington Oval (London)

We have entered the time period when the squad discussion and announcement were set to take place. Star Sports has begun its show with Saba Karim as an expert.

Shardul Thakur has been picked in India A squad that will play two unofficial Tests against England Lions. Will he get a look in for the main squad is a question mark. He last played for India in their series against South Africa.

Rohit had also made a sudden announcement of retirement from Test cricket on May 7. "Hello everyone, I would like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format," he said in a social media post.

On May 12, Virat Kohli announced his decision to retire from Test cricket. The decision sent shockwaves in the cricketing circle. "It's been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It's tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I'll carry for life," Kohli said in a statement. "There's something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever.

"As I step away from this format, it's not easy - but it feels right. I've given it everything I had, and it's given me back so much more than I could've hoped for. I'm walking away with a heart full of gratitude - for the game, for the people I shared the field with, and for every single person who made me feel seen along the way. I'll always look back at my Test career with a smile."

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi is the youngest Indian Test captain at 21y 77d. Shubman Gill is currently 25y and 258d. He will be the fifth youngest Indian Test captain if he is named the skipper today.

There are not many changes expected, however, some are in the pipeline. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have retired from Tests, Ashwin has from international cricket. Gill is set to be the captain. Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair are likely to come in.

Rohit Sharma played in the fourth Test of the BGT and stepped out of the fifth Test. He had said that he is not going anywhere and then also expressed his desire to lead India in England. However, he has now retired from Tests. Meanwhile, Kohli played all five matches in the BGT and had also made it clear in an interview after that. "Don't get nervous, I'm not making any announcements, as of now, everything is fine," Kohli had said in an interview.

Meanwhile, former selector Kiran More wants KL Rahul to be the next Test skipper and not Shubman Gill to not 'put too much pressure' on the younger guy. "I would go with KL Rahul—he’s an experienced campaigner. I don’t want to put too much pressure on Shubman Gill. He hasn’t done enough in Test cricket yet. He hasn’t played much domestic cricket either, so there’s a lot of learning still to do in the longer format. Let him grow—maybe he can be vice-captain for a year or two. For now, KL Rahul is the right choice. He has the experience, temperament, and communication skills needed to lead," More said on Jio Hotstar.

India have had 36 Test captains till now. If Shubman Gill is named the skipper, he will be the 37th captain of the Indian Test team. The last man to lead India was Jasprit Bumrah.

The last time that India played without both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was more than three years ago. India took on South Africa in a Test in Johannesburg with Kohli out due to a back spasm and Rohit missing the entire series due to his hamstring issue.

Star Sports will screen a special discussion at 12:30 PM and the team is set to be announced at any time after 12:30 PM. We are not much away from that now.

The BCCI has reportedly scheduled a meeting today at 12:30 PM IST in Mumbai to discuss India's squad for the upcoming five-match series against England. The meeting is likely to last for one hour and the squad announcement might come at any time around 1:30 PM. Chief Ajit Agarkar is expected to attend the press conference.

Reports suggest that Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's names were considered as a potential stopgap solution to fill the void left by the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from India's Test squad. However, the selectors have made up their minds to focus on nurturing young talent, indicating that they are not looking to the past.

Former selector Saba Karim wants the selectors to make a bold call and name Shubman Gill as the Test captain. "You have Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant. Considering this is the start of a new WTC cycle, I would go with a young, talented leader—Shubman Gill. Although he’s yet to fully establish himself at the Test level, I’d like to see the selectors make a bold move. We've seen his leadership skills in the shorter format with GT, and he seems to be in a very happy space when leading. That should bode well for India," he said on JioHotstar.

The likely squad shall include Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rishabh Pant, Druv Jurel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav.

Ideally, he should be considering he is the vice-captain in Tests. However, due to his past injury issues and his workload being crucial for India, he is not likely to play in all five matches in England. Due to this, Shubman Gill is likely to pip him for the leadership role with reports claiming Rishabh Pant can be the vice-captain.

Jasprit Bumrah will be leading the pace attack which is also likely to feature players from the pool of Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Shardul Thakur and Arshdeep Singh. Mohammed Shami is unlikely to be picked as BCCI feels he has not developed workload for Test cricket.

Rishabh Pant will be the first-choice wicketkeeper with Dhruv Jurel being the second option. Jurel showed his game in the short term during the England series last year at home.

It does not look so. As per reports, the BCCI is not looking to go back to the old horses and might go with the new guns. Sai Sudharsan and Sarfaraz Khan are likely to be picked.

Shubman Gill has scored 1334 runs in 19 matches in Asia. He has only 559 runs in 13 matches outside Asia. All of his 5 centuries have come in Asia with 5 half-tons out of 7 coming in the subcontinent. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal and who? There was no question on the second name until Rohit Sharma was there but now that he has gone, the question remains who will be the next opener? There is KL Rahul, Shubman Gill himself and Sai Sudharsan as a left choice. Gill will reportedly take the No.4, so that leaves us with the other two options.

Following the international retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin during the BGT, the Indian spin department needs to be as robust too. The spin department is set to feature Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav.

In a major development, pacer Mohammed Shami is unlikely to be picked, as per reports. BCCI feels that the pacer has not developed the workload required for Test cricket as he has been bowling only four overs per match in IPL

India A squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (VC) (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey

Note: Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the squad ahead of the second match.

India A will play two unofficial Tests against England Lions. The first will be played from May 30- June 2, followed by the second one from June 6- 9.  Abhimanyu Easwaran is India A's captain for the tour.

The India vs England Test will begin from June 20 onwards with the first Test in Leeds, followed by the second one in Birmingham from July 2. Lord's will host the third Test (July 10), followed by the fourth in Manchester (July 23) with the concluding one to be played at The Oval (31st July). India will play an intra-squad game vs India A from June 13-16.

As per reports, Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan are likely to be named in India's squad. With Shubman Gill expected to be the captain, the top four is likely to be - Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan/ Karun Nair and Shubman Gill. Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav.

First things first. Post the Rohit-Kohli era, BCCI is expected to name the Test squad for the England Test series on Saturday. What about the captaincy? As per multiple media reports, Shubman Gill is the frontrunner to be named the next Test captain, probably pipping the vice-skipper Jasprit Bumrah, who has a history of injury issues, including his recent lower-back one that made him miss a part of the fifth Test against Australia and then the Champions Trophy.

Welcome to the post-Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli world in Test cricket. For 14 years, India has been cherishing the Rohit-Kohli moments. Virat Kohli's epic Australia series in 2014, his England downfall in 2016, then a meteoric rise against the same opponents in 2018, a slip in form since 2020, and then a few sparks in the past few years, India has witnessed some great Kohli moments. 

Ditto for Rohit, who used to play in the middle-order and revived his Test career when he began opening in 2019. Nine of his 12 centuries came when he began opening in 2019. The Oval hundred, a 212-run Ranchi marathon and his exceptional leadership skills, Rohit offered great value to Test cricket too. We now move past the RoKo era in Test cricket as India are set to face England in a five-match series.