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Team India begins a new era in Tests against England without Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli & Ravichandran Ashwin. Led by Shubman Gill, the young side eyes history by ending an 18-year drought and winning a Test series in England’s testing conditions.
Team India will begin their new era in Test cricket when they take on England in the first Test of the five-match series, starting on June 20. This will be the first Test series for Team India without three stalwarts - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Rohit and Kohli stepped away from the longest format of the game ahead of the England Test tour, while Ashwin retired from all formats at the international level amid the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the Gabba Test in Brisbane in December last year. With the retirements of these seasoned campaigners, a fresh-faced Test side led by Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, along with the guidance of head coach Gautam Gambhir, will script a new chapter in the longest format.
Shubman Gill-led Team India has an arduous task to overcome the English conditions and end an 18-year wait for winning a Test series in England, a feat last achieved in 2007 under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy.
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18 years of English heartbreak
Team India won the Test Series in England only thrice - 1971, 1986, and 2007. The gap between the first and second Test series on English was 16 years, and then, it took another 22 years to win again in 2007. The gap between winning the Test series in England signifies that conquering English conditions has remained one of the toughest challenges for Team India across generations, making every triumph a historic moment.
When Rahul Dravid’s Team India clinched the Test Series win on English soil in 2007, it was seen as a landmark achievement in Indian cricket history, built on gritty batting, disciplined bowling, and moments of brilliance from the likes of Zaheer Khan, Dinesh Karthik, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, RP Singh, and S Sreesanth, who all played pivotal roles in helping India script one of the memorable and historic overseas Test triumphs.
Winning a Test series in England is similar to winning the World Cup, as it requires exceptional skills, temperament, and adaptability to challenging conditions against one of the formidable home teams in world cricket. After the England Test series triumph in 2007, Team India toured England four times for Test series in 2011, 2014, 2018, and 2021/22, but failed to win any of them. The worst result came in 2011, when Team India was whitewashed in the four-match Test series by England, and it became national headlines, as it triggered widespread criticism of India’s overseas Test performances.
In the 2021/22 Test tour of England, Team India was leading the five-match series 2-1 against England under Virat Kohli’s captaincy before the final Test at Old Trafford was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian camp. The fifth Test was rescheduled to July 2022 at Edgbaston, with Jasprit Bumrah as captain. However, the hopes of winning a Test series in England were dashed after England levelled the series 2-2.
The start of a new era
The upcoming Test series against England is not just a chance for Shubman Gill’s Team India to seek resurgence for the past failures of previous Indian teams, but also to assert a new era of dominance in red-ball cricket. After the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, Indian Test cricket is going through a transition phase, with the young squad taking over the mantle and aiming to define India’s legacy in the longest format of the game.
In the past Test tours of England, Team India had world-class players at their disposal, but they have not clinched a series win in English conditions since Rahul Dravid's side won it in 2007. In the last four tours, Team India had either faltered in key moments or failed to maintain consistency across all five Tests, often succumbing to England’s potent pace attack, swinging conditions, and middle-order collapses. The 2021/22 series would have hurt Team India as they inched closer to scripting history.
As the baton has been passed on to the new generation of players, the onus is on Shubman Gill and the young brigade to rise to the occasion, embrace the English conditions, and erase the memories of the past heartbreaks in England Tests. This time, experienced stars like KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, and Shardul Thakur, along with rising stars Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh, and Sai Sudhasran, the squad has the balance to end the long drought, if they click as a unit.
Seaming conditions to define India’s batting fortunes
The English pitches often provide more assistance to the pacers with the Dukes ball, and thus the batting fortunes of Team India will heavily depend on their top-order to lay the foundation for the side by countering seam and swing, especially during the morning session, which could set the tone for each Test.
The Indian batters like KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have scored centuries on English soil, and Karun Nair has experience of playing in the County Championship, but the question is whether the likes of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal can stand up in unfamiliar and testing conditions. Gill played Tests in England in the past, but managed to score just 88 runs in three matches. Jaiswal, on the other hand, is touring England for the first time, but showed early signs of struggle in English conditions in India A’s two unofficial Tests against England Lions.
It is crucial for Gill and Jaiswal to adapt to the English conditions, as they are among the pillars of the Indian batting line-up after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli left a huge void to fill. Jaiswal can take inspiration from his maiden Test tour of Australia, where he was India’s highest run-getter, while Gill will look to make amends for his modest returns in England so far.
With the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, and Sai Sudharsan, India have the batting unit with a mix of experienced and youth that can tackle the moving ball and post competitive totals. Sudharsan, too, has experience of playing in English conditions as he plied his trade for Surrey in the County Championship last season.
Jasprit Bumrah set for rotational role
Jasprit Bumrah is the lead pacer for Team India going into the Test series against England, but he is unlikely to play all five Tests due to workload management. Bumrah sustained a back injury in the Sydney Test against Australia and was sidelined for three months, missing India’s title-winning campaign at the Champions Trophy this year, before making a comeback in the IPL 2025.
Since then, Team India management and selectors have wanted to be careful with Bumrah’s workload in demanding England conditions, to ensure he remains fit and effective throughout the Test series. The lead pacer is likely to play selective matches of the series rather than playing all five Tests against England.
Along with Jasprit Bumrah, the pace bowling unit includes Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh. Harshit Rana was asked to stay in England after the Intra-squad match between India and India A, but not sure about his inclusion in the India squad.
In the absence of Bumrah, the responsibility will be on Mohammed Siraj to lead the pace attack, with the support from Akash Deep and Shardul Thakur, while Arshdeep Singh’s left-arm angle and Prasidh Krishna’s bounce could be pivotal in exploiting English seaming conditions.
