A new-look, young Team India will kickstart the new ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle against England in the five-Test series from June 20 onwards, with the first Test at Headingley, Leeds.
While there's a generational shift, key players like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja remain, providing a strong foundation for the visitors.
The marquee contest will witness an engrossing tussle for supremacy between two battle-hardened all-rounders: Jadeja, India's man for all seasons, and England's superstar Ben Stokes, who has been the face of a defining era for the Three Lions.
The duo, who have a long history of playing against each other at both home and away, will be their team's most experienced players when they take to the field at Leeds.
Jadeja has an impressive record against England, with 1,031 runs in 33 innings at an average of 33.25. He has scored two centuries and six fifties against them, with the best score being 112.
He has also snared 70 wickets at an average of 32.57, with two five-wicket hauls and a ten-fer. His best figures against England is 7/48.
In 10 away Tests against England, the 36-year-old southpaw has aggregated 563 runs at an average of 31.27, including a century and three fifties.
His best score of 104 came at Edgbaston in 2022. He has also taken 22 wickets at an average of 46.13, with best figures of 4/79. His bowling averages in pace-friendly English conditions are nothing extra-ordinary, but he has always proved to be a big threat on spin-friendly tracks at home.
On the other hand, the 34-year-old Stokes has had an average run with the willow against India, scoring 972 runs in 40 innings at an average of 24.92.
He has a century and five fifties under his belt with the best score being 128.
Against India, Stokes has taken 40 wickets at an average of 31.17, with best figures of 5/73, his solitary five-wicket haul against this particular opponents.
At home against India, his record is pretty poor, averaging just 18.75, with 225 runs in 12 innings, including one one half-century. His bowling has been better, though, with 26 wickets in seven Tests at an average of 16.65 and best figures of 4/28.
Jadeja enjoys a solid Test record against Stokes, having dismissed him six times in 19 meetings. Stokes has a batting average of just over 20 against him and a strike rate of around 53.
It remains to be seen who will reign supreme in this battle of two proven veterans.
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