Ajinkya Rahane Picks His India 11 For 1st England Test, Ignores Karun Nair

Last Updated:
Ajinkya Rahane has excluded Karun Nair and Prasidh Krishna from his playing 11 in the 2025 Ra
Karun Nair and Prasidh Krishna didn't find a place in Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane's predicted playing 11 for India's first Test against England, which begins on Friday (June 20) in Headingley.
Rahane is currently out of favor from the Test side but has captained it to one of its greatest triumphs in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India will not only be without him, but several other key seniors like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Cheteshwar Pujara for the rubber.
That leaves an opportunity for many new names, including Nair, who is making a comeback after eight years via stupendous form in all domestic tournaments in the past year. Prasidh was India's third seamer in Australia and the Purple Cap winner in the recently concluded IPL 2025.
However, Rahane, in a video on his YouTube channel, went with KL Rahul as Yashasvi Jaiswal's opener, with debutant Sai Sudharsan for number three. He put new captain Shubman Gill at number four. For the number five spot, he went with Dhruv Jurel followed by Rishabh Pant and two all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur.
For the third pacer, he chose another debutant, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
Ajinkya Rahane's predicted 11: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh.
It needs to be noted that vice-captain Pant has already confirmed that he'll bat at five, leaving number three and six as the available spots, considering Rahul will open.
Rahane also spoke about Gill's challenge to transition from T20 captaincy in the IPL to Test leadership for the first time, but also expressed confidence in the youngster's nous.
'I think it's going to be a challenging task for Shubman because in Test cricket I always believe you have to be proactive as a captain. I'm sure Shubman will do well, but it will take time because captaining in T20s and ODIs is completely different. In the Test format, sometimes you have to stay one or two steps ahead of your opponents, talk to your bowlers, and plan things with them. So, it's going to be a challenging task for him, but I'm sure he will do well as both a skipper and a batter," Rahane added in the video.
First Published:
June 20, 2025, 08:06 IST

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Indian Express

23 minutes ago

• Indian Express

IND vs ENG: Sai Sudharsan makes India Test debut at Leeds in 1st England Test

IND vs ENG 1st Test, 2025: Tamil Nadu sensation Sai Sudharsan marked his Test debut on Friday during the first match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England at Headingley, Leeds. Sudharsan was seen receiving the Test cap from Cheteshwar Pujara in a team huddle ahead of the toss, set to be headlined by India's new captain Shubman Gill and England skipper Ben Stokes. FOLLOW: IND vs ENG LIVE SCORE, 1st Test Day 1 Sudharsan is the 317th man to receive the India Test cap and will likely mark his first innings as India's new No. 3 in the line-up. The left-hander's batting technique received several plaudits after a record-breaking IPL 2025 season, where he finished as the highest run-getter with 759 runs. Sudharsan has previously featured in two County stints with Surrey in 2023 and 2024, averaging 35. In his last outing for the side, Sudharsan cracked his maiden First-Class century in English conditons while batting at No. 6. Overall, the 23-year-old averages 39.93 for 1957 runs in 29 FC outings since his debut in 2022. The youngster was also part of the India A squad during the tour to Australia last year where he slammed a century in the first unofficial match against Australia A. Behind his rise to the Indian team is the story of his family's incredible support and sacrifice. 'My mother takes care of my strength and conditioning and my dad (R Bharadwaj, a former national-level athlete) handles my running aspect. And I have my brother (B Sai Ram) who offers all the support. They know me completely. They understand my emotions. Because they are knowledgeable, they can make a difference in my life,' Sai Sudharsan tells The Indian Express.

First Post

24 minutes ago

• First Post

No Karun Nair in Ajinkya Rahane's India playing XI for first England Test at Leeds

Veteran Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane sprung a surprise by not picking Karun Nair in his predicted playing XI for India. The first Test between India and England starts at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday. read more Ajinkya Rahane has picked Dhruv Jurel in place of Karun Nair in India's playing XI for the first Test against England at Headingley , Leeds, which starts on Friday, 20 June. While it has been reported by multiple media houses that Karun Nair is set to make a comeback to the Indian Team after a gap of over seven years, Rahane feels Jurel will be a better fit. Nair last played for India in 2017 before being dropped from the team. He, however, is in great form in domestic cricket and scored 863 runs in the recent Ranji Trophy season. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored 779 runs and also smashed a double century in the practice match against England Lions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ajinkya Rahane's Predicted XI for the Headingley Test Rahane, however, doesn't seem convinced and opted for Dhruv Jurel in the playing XI. For the No.3 spot, Rahane went with Sai Sudharsan. Rahane feels the recent good form in IPL and domestic cricket would help Sai Sudharsan do well for India at No.3. 'I think so. Yes, he has been in very good form in T20 cricket as well as red-ball cricket. Whatever domestic matches he has played, he's done really well for his side and his technique looks really composed and calm whenever he is batting at the crease, so I think he should be given a chance to bat at number three,' Rahane said on his YouTube channel. Ajinkya Rahane's Predicted XI for Headingley Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh England's Confirmed Playing XI: Zak Crawley, ⁠Ben Duckett, ⁠Ollie Pope, ⁠Joe Root, ⁠Harry Brook, ⁠Ben Stokes (C), ⁠Jamie Smith (wk), ⁠Chris Woakes, ⁠Brydon Carse, ⁠Josh Tongue, ⁠Shoaib Bashir

Time of India

an hour ago

• Time of India

Meet this year's #Unstoppable21

The young talents nominated by the TOI jury come from different parts of India, spanning categories from sports to science. The youngest is 5 years old, while some are already stars in their field. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Vaibhav Suryavanshi (14), Tajpur The youngest IPL debutant and record-breaking centurion from Bihar stunned the world with a 35-ball hundred and a strike rate over 200, earning praise as the 'future of Indian cricket' Anmol Kharb (18), Faridabad She led Indian women's team to its maiden gold at the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championships. By 12, she had clinched the U-17 AllIndia Ranking title. Dhinidhi Desinghu (14), Bengaluru She was the youngest member of the Indian contingent at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She has smashed records and won 11 medals at the 2025 National Games. Esha Singh (20), Hyderabad She became India's youngest national champion in 10m air pistol at 13. She has since bagged many world and Asian medals and emerged as one of India ' s brightest shooters. Tanvi Patri (14), Bengaluru She was Asian U15 badminton singles champion in 2024 at 13. She won her first U8 title in 2018 in China and, in the following year, won eight titles across age categories. Mayank Pandhari (20), Bengaluru A gold medallist at the International Biology Olympiad and science prodigy, he ' s known for research in cancer biology and RNA therapeutics. He ' s now doing research on breast cancer. Aditya Kumar Jha (16), Mumbai This teen innovator is making low-cost, AI-powered diagnostic tools for early liver disease and cancer detection that are accessible to all. Anirudh Nautiyal (20), Vadodara He has created a robotic bomb disposal arm named 'VENOM'. This pioneer of youth-led defence tech in India has been lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Krisha Janaswamy (19), Mumbai A cancer researcher, she developed a selftest device for cervical cancer that was top 5 at IIT Bombay's Bio-Hackathon and is now patent-filed and funded by ICMR. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sooryagayathri (19), Vatakara She catapulted to fame at 9 with her rendition of 'Hanuman Chalisa'. The singer from Kerala has performed in multiple countries, including the US, UK, and Singapore. Uthara Unnikrishnan (20), Chennai She won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer at 10 for 'Azhage', from the film 'Saivam'. She is trained in Carnatic, Hindustani classical, jazz, and R&B. Anirban Roy (15), Kolkata A flautist trained in Hindustani and Western classical music, he has received global recognition, including Asian African Award for Musical Excellence. Steven Samuel Devassy (19), Bengaluru A drumming prodigy who has performed with the likes of A R Rahman and Shivamani, he blends Indian percussion forms with Western rhythms. Samarth Chitta (13), Bengaluru A podcaster and author, he has published two books and turned childhood curiosity into an online platform that helps kids explore careers, ideas, and news. Austin Ajit (12), Bengaluru Austin had written 10 books on animals and environment by 11, channelling his passion for conservation and creating awareness about climate and environment. Anvi Vishesh Agrawal (5), Bhubaneswar A TEDx speaker, Guinness recordholder and an artist, Anvi uses her creativity to champion social causes and was nominated for the Nelson Mandela Leadership Award at Oxford. Jiya Doshi (17), Mumbai A young author and poet, she has written three acclaimed books and won the International Exceller Under 18 Writers Award and Golden Book Awards 2025. Vaibhav Shokeen (21), Delhi Collaborating with Stanford researchers, he helped develop a machine learning tool to diagnose schistosomiasis (a parasitic infection prevalent in some African countries). Ridhhaan Jaiin (11), Pune Founder of a global publishing platform, RidhzWorld Publishing, he has authored five books and helped 28 kids become authors. He holds six Asian and national records. Anoushka Jolly (15) Delhi At 13, she became the youngest entrepreneur to secure funding on Shark Tank India for her anti-bullying initiative, Kavach. She has also won the PM Rashtriya Bal Puraskar. Saiyam Mazumder (17) Guwahati The social activist and India's youngest snake rescuer, Saiyam is also an avid mountaineer and has won the PM Rashtriya Bal Puraskar award.