Gautam Gambhir Faces Tough Questions Ahead Of Shubman Gill-Led India's Opening Test vs England

NDTV

20 hours ago

As India-England first Test draws closer, the Asian giants are left with plenty of questions to answer as they battle demons following a string of poor showings at home/away and retirements of some of their biggest superstars. India's first Test against England at Leeds from June 20 will mark the start of a new era under newly-appointed captain Shubman Gill, as he aims to lead a new-look team to glory following the retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Tests and Ravichandran Ashwin from international cricket as a whole. There are some questions they need to answer, some problems left unaddressed:
Who takes the burden of the crown at number four?
For Team India, atleast, the number four spot is not a regular position. For long, it was occupied by legends like Sachin Tendulkar (13,492 runs in 177 Tests at an average of 54.40, with 44 centuries) and Virat Kohli (7,564 runs in 98 Tests at an average of 56.88, with 26 centuries). Rohit Sharma's top-order replacement looks clear, in the form of KL Rahul.
There have been calls so far that Gill should take the number four spot. Though he succeeded at number three spot at home with three centuries and three fifties, he has been abysmal away from home. Even Karun Nair, who has returned to the national side after eight years, young Sai Sudharsan or in a highly left-field call, Dhruv Jurel, could become India's number four, as per Wisden.
Gill and head coach stayed tight-lipped about the batting order during the pre-departure presser, saying that a call would be taken only after reaching the UK.
Five bowlers or less?
During the Kohli captaincy era, the onus was on the main batters to do the talking and no cushion was given to them in the form of all-rounders. Five specialist bowlers were played, prioritising picking up 20 wickets at any cost, home or away, even if the batting line-up looked less deep.
The captain-coach duo of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid more or less continued with this. But there was some slight shift during Gautam Gambhir's tenure, particularly in Australia, when three specialist bowlers were played with three all-rounders. The idea to provide variety and depth was great, but it led to over-reliance on Jasprit Bumrah, as India lost the series 3-1 and also lost Bumrah to an injury ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Ahead of the England Tests, India do not have a perfect number eight. With Ravindra Jadeja playing at number seven, one of Shardul Thakur (331 runs in 11 Tests with four fifties and 31 wickets at an average of 28.38) or Nitish Kumar Reddy (298 runs in five Tests with a century and five wickets at an average of 38.00) could play at number eight to improve batting depth. But it would lead to some compromises with the bowling. It looks interesting where India would go.
What does the lower-order look like?
While India grapples with question of a proper top-order or their bowling attack, another question is, what would the number six, seven and eight would look like. Jadeja looks a certainty for number seven. But if India play Kuldeep Yadav as their spinner, as suggested by former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar, Nitish Kumar would be the one playing as an all-rounder and could bat at number seven, having batted there in Australia.
Number six is a spot left open ever since KL Rahul has moved up the top. Dhruv Jurel has been on a hot-streak as of late, with half-centuries against Australia A and England Lions away from home. Sai Sudharan has notably, batted at number six as well. Nitish could also play at number six.
At number eight, Shardul gives India a bit as a batter and is a solid pacer as well. But this spot is one too high for Kuldeep or any fourth quick. Reddy could drop down there, having some experience at this position too. Washington Sundar could also feature as a solid bat at number eight, though the quality of his spin bowling is not high as Jadeja and Kuldeep.
India played Nitish, Kumar and Sundar in Australia as all-round options, will India continue with it?
Who will be the third pacer?
Two of India's pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, are more than confirmed to play, but Mohammed Shami is not in the squad and could have walked in as third.
With a Purple Cap-winning season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Prasidh Krishna looks a great option, having put in some solid contributions during tour to Australia, taking six wickets in one match at Sydney, three-fers in each innings.
Arshdeep Singh, India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is, gives India a left-arm pace variation, while Shardul gives India some batting depth. Akash Deep was solid against England at home, but unlucky against Australia away from home. He has barely had any game time in months due to injury and did not play India A games against England Lions. His game time came during the IPL for Lucknow Super Giants, taking three wickets in six games.
Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj and Mukesh Kumar are pacers from the India A team who are staying behind with the main squad. Kamboj is an interesting option, a canny, restrictive pacer who can bat as well, having made a fifty against England Lions in second game.
The series will be held from June to August 2025, with matches scheduled at Headingley in Leeds, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord's and The Oval in London, and Old Trafford in Manchester.
India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.