IND Vs ENG: Trial By Fire For Shubman Gill And Co. As India Eye Winning Start

Last Updated:
Shubman Gill, India's 37th Test captain, has a lot on his plate and much to prove.
Shubman Gill. Gautam Gambhir. A new beginning. A new captain, a determined coach, some seasoned veterans, and a few new faces will strive to create an engaging narrative over the next 45 days as an evolving India faces an equally intense England in a five-Test series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy starting Friday (June 20).
Only three Indian teams – Ajit Wadekar's 1971 squad, Kapil Dev's 1986 team, and Rahul Dravid's 2007 group – have won a Test series in England in the last nine decades, which is not an encouraging statistic.
Additionally, India's most dedicated long-format cricketer of the past decade, Virat Kohli, has retired from Test cricket, making the batting lineup appear slightly less experienced.
For 25-year-old Gill, this series will be a trial by fire against an England side that has revolutionised Test match batting under Brendon McCullum's coaching and Ben Stokes' captaincy.
Gill's selection as India's 37th Test captain is more about his potential than his past achievements as a batter and leader in the traditional format. The 'Prince' has a lot on his plate and much to prove.
An unusually warm Leeds (with a maximum temperature of 29 degrees Celsius expected on Friday) and a grassy 22-yard surface at Headingley are not exactly ideal for England's famous 'Bazballers', but this series will hinge on which batting unit buckles first under pressure.
England's batting lineup, with Joe Root boasting over 13,000 Test runs and 36 centuries, appears stronger on paper compared to India, whose most experienced batter is KL Rahul (58 Tests, 3257 runs).
However, the presence of the exceptional Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian bowling unit levels the playing field, even if he is available for only three Tests.
Despite the absence of Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who played his best Test cricket in the 2021 series, this could be India's best chance to pressure an English bowling lineup lacking the quality that James Anderson and Stuart Broad provided for two decades.
An attack comprising Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, and Shoaib Bashir, with skipper Stokes complementing them, does not instill fear in the opposition.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir, now the most influential figure in the Indian dressing room after Kohli and Rohit's departure, will not want his already blemished record of six defeats to worsen. This series will be a significant test of Gambhir's tactical skills.
With Karun Nair's comeback appearing likely based on his presence at first slip during practice, another batting spot remains in question.
Will Gambhir field an extra batter and give the talented B Sai Sudharsan his Test debut? Or will he opt for both seam-bowling all-rounders, Nitish Reddy and Shardul Thakur, to compensate for the lack of an additional specialist batter?
There is also the temptation to play Kuldeep Yadav, who can turn the ball on any surface, but Ravindra Jadeja, despite his limitations as a left-arm spinner in SENA countries, is still a solid No. 7 batter.
Another issue is whether T20 specialist Arshdeep Singh should be chosen as the third seamer based on conditions, or if Prasidh Krishna, who bowls faster but slightly back of length, should get the nod.
Not to forget Akash Deep, who is considered an ideal partner for Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in these conditions.
Gambhir's decisions will undoubtedly define India's strategy over the next six and a half weeks.
The hosts have already announced their eleven, and it is clear that Stokes and McCullum have opted for a batting-heavy lineup with Woakes coming in at No. 8.
Woakes, who has a Test century against India, is a competent batter.
However, much will depend on how Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett fare against Bumrah and Siraj, who can pose significant challenges.
Ollie Pope, who struggled against Bumrah in the last India series, knows that Jacob Bethell is waiting in the wings.
Ultimately, the Root versus Bumrah battles in three of the five matches could determine the series outcome.
tags :
Ben Stokes brendon mccullum England cricket team Gautam Gambhir India cricket team India vs England India vs England 2025 Shubman Gill
Location :
Leeds (UK)
First Published:
June 19, 2025, 14:25 IST
News cricket IND Vs ENG: Trial By Fire For Shubman Gill And Co. As India Eye Winning Start

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

United News of India

28 minutes ago

• United News of India

Paris Diamond League 2025: Neeraj Chopra, Julian Weber to renew rivalry

Paris, June 20 (UNI) All eyes will be on India's Neeraj Chopra and Germany's Julian Weber as they renew their rivalry at the Paris Diamond League 2025 on Friday. The highly competitive javelin event will see seven elite athletes trying to outdo one another. Germany's Julian Weber has beaten the Indian ace twice in 2025 to the pole position, first in the Doha Diamond League and then a week later in the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial. Neeraj had breached the elusive 90 meter threshold with a 90.23m effort in the third round of the Doha Diamond League, he however was joined in the 90 m club by Weber, whose throw of 91.06m in the final round of the competition snatched victory away from Chopra. Weber bettered Chopra at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial too as he threw the spear thrice beyond 85m while Neeraj could only manage a best of 84.14m with his last attempt which helped him end second. Five out of the seven athletes have a personal best on above 90 meters. Also competing will be Grenada's Anderson Peters, the two-time world champion and Paris 2024 bronze medallist. Peters, has a personal best of 93.07m. Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist returns to the Paris Diamond League after a eight year gap, he last competed at the tournament in 2017 when he was a junior world champion. Brazil's Luiz Maurício da Silva, Moldova's Andrian Mardare, Trinidad and Tobago's Keshorn Walcott and Kenya's Julius Yego will be the other athletes who will compete. UNI RKM BM

First Post

32 minutes ago

• First Post

Karun Nair returns after eight years, Sai Sudharsan handed Test debut as England opt to field against India in Headingley

Karun Nair makes his first appearance for the Indian team since 2017 while B Sai Sudharsan makes his first appearance in whites after playing both white ball formats as England opt to field against India in the opening match of the five-Test series in Headingley, Leeds. read more Karun Nair last played a match for India in 2017, over seven years ago. Image: Reuters B Sai Sudharsan was handed his maiden cap while Karun Nair returned to the team after spending eight years in the wilderness as England captain Ben Stokes opted to field in the first Test against India in Headingley on Friday. LIVE | India vs England, 1st Test in Headingley, Day 1 The ongoing Test is Shubman Gill's first since he was named Rohit Sharma's successor as Test captain, as well as the first since Rohit and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from the five-day format last month. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sai Sudharsan received his maiden Test cap from Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of toss, and it was perhaps poetic since the Tamil Nadu batter will be batting at a position that the latter, who currently is on commentary duty with BBC's Test Match Special. Nair, meanwhile, received a recall into the Indian team after eight years on the back of staggering numbers in the domestic circuit as well as an impressive run in the Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals. Additionally, Shardul Thakur was included as an all-rounder along with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, having made a strong case for selection with an unbeaten 122 in the intra-squad match in Beckenham recently. India vs England, 1st Test at Headingley, Playing XIs: India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj. England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir

NDTV

32 minutes ago

• NDTV

India vs England LIVE Score, 1st Test, Day 1 LIVE Updates: 2 Huge Returns And A Debut For Gill-Led India; Eng Opt To Bowl

India vs England 1st Test, Day 1 LIVE Score Updates: England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bowl against India in the first Test of the 'Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy' at Headingley, Leeds. This match marks the start of a new dawn for Team India in Test cricket, with Shubman Gill having been appointed captain after the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. India have handed a debut Test cap to batter Sai Sudharsan, confirming his place in the playing XI for the first Test. It is also the start of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle for both nations. (Live Scorecard) India XI vs England: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna. England XI vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir. IND vs ENG 1st Test, Day 1 LIVE Scorecard: India vs England LIVE Updates, straight from Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds: