India's Squad vs England: Gill Leads the Pack, Shami Misses Out in Our Strongest 18-Member Squad
Photo : Times Now Digital
Shubman Gill is likely to be named as the new Test captain for India, replacing Rohit Sharma, who retired from the longest format of the game earlier this month. Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan are the frontrunners to be picked in place of Virat Kohli, who followed Rohit's footsteps and called time on his Test career, five days after Rohit's retirement. The selectors, headed by Ajit Agarkar along with coach Gautam Gambhir, are expected to name India's Test squad for the tour of England on Saturday afternoon.
Sarfaraz Khan is expected to retain his place in the squad, while Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant pretty much pick themselves in the team. Among the bowlers, Mohammed Shami is expected to be left out, with reports suggesting that he has still not reached the level of fitness that would allow him to bowl long spells in Test cricket. In his absence, Arshdeep Singh is likely to make his Test debut and can be one of India's trump cards in the upcoming series, given his ability to swing the new ball both ways.
Jasprit Bumrah seems to have pulled himself out of the captaincy race, according to several media reports. Bumrah, although fully fit, might not be picked to play all five Test matches. India would like to use Bumrah effectively and manage his workload accordingly, considering there is a big season ahead. Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, and Prasidh Krishna are likely to be the other seaming options, other than Bumrah and Arshdeep.
Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav will be the spin-bowling options for India, along with Jadeja. Nitish Kumar Reddy can also be a very good bowling option for India in England. Dhruv Jurel, in all likelihood, will be picked as the second wicket-keeper for India, after Pant.
Our Strongest 18-Member India Squad for England
Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav
