3 Major Changes Expected In India Squad From BGT For England Test Series

Anurag Dasgupta

Major changes in India squad [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/x.com] Major changes in India squad [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/x.com]

The Indian Premier League has reached its business end and now the focus will shift towards the big India tour of England, which commences next month. The series will mark a new era for Indian cricket with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli being retired and thus, many changes are expected to take place.

The tour will also mark the beginning of India's new WTC cycle and will probably be India's biggest challenge. With only a month to go for the series and the squad announcement set to take place on Saturday, we look at the 3 expected changes in the squad from the last Test tour  (BGT).

1) New leader in Gill as Rohit retires?

With Rohit Sharma retired, India's Test captaincy is up for grabs and the front-runner is Shubman Gill. The youngster has already become the vice-captain of the ODI side and the team management have a lot of faith in him.

The name of Jasprit Bumrah was also up for grabs, however, his recent injury record goes against him as the selectors and the coach believe that Gill is the right candidate to lead India in whites.

2) Emerging IPL stars to get a chance?

The last time India played a Test series, it turned out to be a disaster for them as the team got dismantled in Australia. As a result, not only Rohit retired, but his teammate, Virat Kohli also announced his retirement.

With RO-KO gone, the selectors are keeping tab on IPL performers from ongoing season and one of them is Sai Sudharsan. The GT opener has had a prolific season at the top with 638 runs in 13 matches as he leads the Orange Cap charts. He is touted to replace Virat Kohli in the Test setup.

Also, in the BGT, the likes of Harshit Rana and Akash Deep were underwhelming and as a result, the selectors are keeping an eye on CSK pacer Anshul Kamboj. The youngster is tailor-made for Test cricket and as per reports, he could be on the way to England.

3) The return of old guard?

Criterion
Data
Matches9
Runs863
50s/100s2/4

(Nair stats in Ranji Trophy 2024-25)

The void Rohit and Kohli have left is almost impossible to fill in, but as per reports, there are good chances that Karun Nair, the forgotten India star could make a comeback in the Test team. He last played a series in 2017 January and since then has been out of favour. However, an excellent domestic season could be his ticket to England when the squad gets announced.