India’s upcoming England Test series, which is scheduled to start from June 20, will see a new generation take over the mantle, with the appointment of Shubman Gill as the new red-ball skipper. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin are not part of the Test setup anymore, having announced their retirements. Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are the only remaining members from the previous core group. India’s top order is likely to bear a new look with Sai Sudharsan set to make his Test debut, and Karun Nair expected to make a comeback after eight years.
Many fans thought that with the retirement of Rohit, Gill would open the innings with young Yashasvi Jaiswal. But Sudharsan’s arrival brings in additional depth and the GT batter was in good form in IPL 2025.
Ex-BCCI selector predicts India’s top order
Speaking to Hindustan Times, former India cricketer and ex-BCCI selector Venkatapathy Raju weighed in on the probable batting template which head coach Gautam Gambhir will employ in the opening Test vs England. Raju also felt that Gill could make the No. 3 slot his own, especially with the inclusion of Sudharsan. Meanwhile, Raju, who was a selector for India’s victorious 2007 World T20 squad, also felt that Rahul could fill in at No. 4, which had long been Kohli’s position.
“I think Gill can be no. 3. So you’ve got Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudarshan and Karun Nair. You can choose from these three in that opening slot. Gill can be No. 3 and No. 4 can be KL Rahul. So that adds a little more strength in the batting,” he said.
Predicting the opening pair, he added, “And then you’ve got Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jaleja. You’ve got all these guys coming back. Gill can come number three. It’s just my opinion. We’re not talking about what they’ve planned. So I think if you ask me, because he’s leading, so he’ll get enough time to just relax and then walk into the bat happily. So Jaiswal and Sudharsan can open, with Gill at No. 3 and KL No. 4. No.5 can be Pant.”
Kohli’s departure will also see Rahul fall under immense pressure, if he bats in the No. 4 slot. Kohli took over in that slot from Sachin Tendulkar in 2013, and had never batted at No. 4 in Tests before that, but soon made it his own. After Kohli pulled out of the home series vs England last year, Rahul filled in at No. 4 in the first Test in Hyderabad and registered 86 and 22, before missing rest of the series due to injury.
Watch India tour of England from 3:30 PM, June 20th onwards LIVE On Sony Sports Ten 1 & Sony Sports Ten 5 channels
