Cricket latest
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced an 18-member squad for the upcoming five-match Test series to be played in England from June 20.
The squad will be led by 25-year old Shubman Gill, who was appointed India’s new Test captain by the selection panel headed by Ajit Agarkar at a meeting in Mumbai on Saturday. Rishabh Pant was named Shubman’s deputy.
B Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh have been picked in India’s Test squad for the first time. On the other hand, Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur have made comebacks for the five-match series in England.
Notably, this is a new look Indian side that will feature in England after the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin from Test cricket.
Cricket latest Ajit Agarkar Opens Up On Virat Kohli’s Retirement
While announcing the squad, Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar opened up on the void left by the Test retirement of premier cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in Test cricket ahead of the upcoming tour of England.
Notably, Rohit announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 7, while his long-time teammate Kohli followed suit on May 12.
“When guys like that retire, it’s always going to be big holes to fill. Even Ashwin retired a few months back. All those guys are stalwarts of Indian cricket. It’s always difficult. One way to look at it is that it’s an opportunity for someone else. Obviously, I’ve had conversations with both of them over the last couple of months,” said Agarkar during the press conference.
Agarkar also revealed that Kohli had reached out to him last month and said he wants to end his Test career.
“Virat obviously reached out in early April and said he wants to finish. We’ve seen him want to give 200 percent every ball that plays… even when he’s not batting and in the field. He had given everything that he had and if he can’t keep up to the standards that he’s set for himself over the years and how good he has been, maybe it was time for him,” he said.
The IND vs ENG Test series will commence on June 20th in Leeds before the action moves to Birmingham for the second Test. The Lord’s Cricket Ground will host the third Test, beginning on July 10, 2025. Old Trafford and Kennington Oval will host the fourth and fifth Tests of the series respectively.
India’s Test Squad For England Tour: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world News on Zee News.