India Squad vs England: File photo of KL Rahul and Shubman Gill© AFP
The Indian cricket squad for the five-Test Tour of England will be announced on Saturday. There is much anticipation surrounding the squad as it will be the first time after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirement from the Test format. There are many question marks surrounding who will lead the side. There is also a question mark on the player who will take over the No. 4 position in the batting order, held by Virat Kohli for a long time. There is a also a big question mark on whether Mohammed Shami will be selected or not.
In the midst of this, a report has claimed that the batting order of the team is almost set. The Cricbuzz report has said that Sai Sudharshan and Karun Nair are going to get a call-up in the squad on the back of a solid show in domestic cricket. However, Sudharshan, who is currently one of the best openers in the IPL 2025, is unlikely to don the same hat in Tests. “It is understood that KL Rahul has been informally indicated by head coach Gautam Gambhir that he will be required to bat upfront. If that plan holds, Rahul is expected to partner Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top, with Gill likely to move down to No. 4. That could open up the No. 3 slot for someone like Sudharsan or Nair,” the report said.
India’s seasoned seamer Mohammed Shami is unlikely to board the plane to England for the upcoming five high-stakes Tests, scheduled to begin on June 20 at Headingley, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Shami, who is fit to bowl for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL), hasn’t necessarily built up the required workload for the high demands of Test cricket, according to ESPNcricinfo. His last appearance for India in the red-ball setup dates back to the World Test Championship final against Australia in 2023.
According to ESPNcricinfo, a member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical staff travelled to Lucknow this week to assess Shami’s fitness level before Hyderabad’s fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday.
It hasn’t been confirmed if the selectors have made up their minds about giving up on Shami for the series. However, it is highly likely that they will play safe and drop Shami unless a favourable report comes from the medical staff.
With ANI inputs
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