Help Gill Pick India's Playing XI For Leeds Test

Indian cricket will kick off a new era but Shubman Gill's young Turks will start off as clear underdogs against a strong England team, in an exciting five-match Test series, starting in Leeds on Friday, June 20, 2025.

India's Test team has been depleted following the retirements of Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. But the Next Gen, battle-hardened by playing alongside the world's best players in the IPL, will certainly look to showcase their potential on the biggest stage and pose a strong challenge to the Englishmen in the Tests.

There are some exciting talents to look forward to in the Indian camp, none more than Tamil Nadu's rising star Sai Sudharsan, who outshone several big names during his incredible run with the bat in IPL 2025.

The left-hander is all set to make an eagerly-awaited Test debut, while everyone will also be looking forward to the return of veteran Karun Nair, who is set to feature in his first match for India after a long wait of eight years.

The unfortunate Abhimanyu Easwaran, who spent the entire tour of Australia on the bench, could once again start on the sidelines with K L Rahul expected to open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

It is widely expected that Gill will move himself to the crucial No. 4 slot -- a position once occupied by batting greats Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Gill, who is yet to make a mark in Test cricket, especially away from home, has big shoes to fill when compared to the records of Tendulkar and Kohli at No. 4.

Tendulkar and Kohli's record at No. 4 in Tests:

Vice-captain Rishabh Pant is the preferred choice at No. 5 with Karun next followed by two all-rounders, making it a potentially long batting line-up.

The choice of India's bowling combination will be interesting. While Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj are the expected three frontline seamers, India will ponder whether to go in with a seam bowling all-rounder in Shardul Thakur or Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is more of a batter than a medium pacer.

Headingly's Chief Curator Richard Robinson has already hinted that the hot weather forecast could see the pitch flatten out as the match progresses, which makes a strong case for India to include an extra pacer if the pitch becomes unresponsive.

Thakur's experience could come in handy -- he is known to be a partnership breaker. With him and Ravindra Jadeja in the lower order, it adds depth to India's batting line-up.

Even if India are tempted to play the wicket-taking spinner Kuldeep Yadav, they are likely to stick with their experienced tweaker in Jadeja, who scored a century in India's previous Test in England in 2022.

England's strong batting line-up, led by the record-breaking Joe Root, could look to put pressure on the Indians with their ultra-aggressive 'Bazball' approach.

If they get going, England's aggressive batters are capable of piling on the runs but they will meet their match in India's versatile bowling, led by the one and only Jasprit Bumrah.

However, England's experienced batting line-up gives them a definite edge, even if bowling is India's main strength.

A comparison of the two batting line-ups:

England have a much superior head-to-head record against India at home with 36 wins from 67 Tests played, while the visitors have managed just nine wins.

Overall too, England have a positive win-loss ratio against India in Tests with 51 wins as compared to 35 losses.

HEAD TO HEAD: England vs India in Tests:

The series opener in Leeds will also serve some high-quality match-ups:

Bumrah vs Root

The Bumrah vs Root duel could be a potentially series-defining battle.

Bumrah, with his ability to swing the new ball and bowl deadly yorkers with the old one, makes him a dangerous bowler at any stage of the match.

With the Headingley pitch expected to be swing-friendly in the first two days, if they bat England's hopes could rest on how they tackle Bumrah -- and the onus will fall on their batting mainstay Joe Root.

England will do well to remember Bumrah's lethal yorker to dismiss Ollie Pope in the Visakhapatnam Test last year. But Root, who has hit 19 Test centuries since January 2021 and averages 54.77 for 6792 runs in Tests, will be hard to stop once he gets going.

Root suffered a rare failure against Zimbabwe when he fell for 34 in the one-off Test.

India could take cues from Root's dismissal to Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani, as he was undone by bounce and only managed to top-edge the pull shot. They could try something similar with Prasidh Krishna, who is skiddy and has the ability to extract extra bounce from length.

Mohammed Siraj vs Zak Crawley/Ben Duckett

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will be full of confidence coming into the first Test. A few weeks back the two openers smashed centuries enroute to putting on 231 runs in just 41.3 overs for the opening wicket in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe.

India will rely on their pace duo of Bumrah and Siraj to strike early -- or England's batting line-up could be hard to contain.

Duckett, with a career strike rate of 86.78 in 33 Tests, is particularly dangerous. He handled Bumrah without much trouble during the India series last year, scoring 63 off 94 balls while being dismissed just once by the Indian pacer.

But facing Bumrah and Siraj on seamer-friendly pitches is a different proposition. Bumrah was virtually unplayable at times in Australia, where he claimed 32 wickets at an incredible average of 13.06, while Siraj got 20 wickets at an average of 31.15.

Siraj is known for his fiery pace and seam movement and with both openers looking to play their shots, it opens up a chance for him to strike early with the new ball.

Chris Woakes vs Shubman Gill

Veteran Chris Woakes will be out to make a mark after missing the Zimbabwe Test. He warmed up nicely for the series with five wickets for England Lions in the second unofficial Test against India A -- including India's first XI players in Yashasvi Jaiswal and Karun Nair.

Shubman Gill is someone who is a nervy starter and is particularly susceptible against the moving ball in conditions like UK as his record in SENA countries prove. At No. 4, he may not face the new ball directly, but he will still need to be very tight with his technique -- especially his defence against seamers.

Woakes could also exploit the early help from the pitch and will be a big threat for the India's top order. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is known for his positive approach, will need to adapt his game against the new ball and play to the situation.

Ravindra Jadeja vs Harry Brook/Ben Stokes

Harry Brook and Ben Stokes are naturally aggressive batters and like to keep the scoreboard ticking. They would particularly look to target Ravindra Jadeja, who could bowl a lot of overs in the middle.

If Jadeja can stick to his trademark disciplined line and length, he could stifle England's middle and lower order and force them into errors.

Even someone like a Shardul Thakur with his deceptive pace and ability to break partnerships can be effective with the old ball.

Who do you think will be part of India's team for the first Test against England, starting at Leeds on June 20? Will India play five specialist bowlers? Will Sai Sudharsan make his debut?

Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, K L Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (Captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain, wicket-keeper), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for the first Test against England?

Please select your team from the list below and do post your playing XI in the message board below:

• India In England, 2025