New Delhi: The transition has finally begun! It wouldn’t have been the easiest of the decisions for the Indian cricket board to take while deciding on India’s squad for the Test tour to England next month along with a new face for captaincy. With the recent retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli putting the Indian team on the brink of a transitional phase, BCCI was certainly caught up in a fix.
But all the speculations, suspense and rumours were finally laid to rest by the BCCI on Saturday, May 24 after they announced a strong 18-member Indian squad for the England Test series along with a new skipper – Shubman Gill, who replaced veteran Rohit as India’s new captain in whites. Team India is embarking on a new journey in Test cricket not just with Gill at the helm but also the next generation as part of the brigade.
With just a few old faces in the setup and multiple changes from the side that last feature in Australia, the youngsters have big shoes to fill in for a challenging five-match series in England beginning on June 20. While the challenge on the tour to England would definitely be a stern one but an opportunity is also in sight wherein the youngsters in the lot can prove their worth and justify their selection in the red-ball setup.
Let’s take a look at some of the key takeaways from India’s squad for England series
New era in Tests for India under Shubman Gill
Batting star Shubman Gill was entrusted with India’s leadership in the longest format to steer the team through a big transition phase on Saturday. With couple of more names like Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah in the fray to become the captain, the BCCI finally zeroed in on Gill as the next skipper replacing recently-retired Rohit and named Pant as his deputy. At 25 years of age, Gill, who is also expected to take the number four batting position form Kohli, will be India’s fourth youngest Test captain after Sachin Tendulkar (23), Kapil Dev (24) and Ravi Shastri (25).
Along with steadying the top order of the team, which was his only job till now, Gill would need to become the torchbearer for the side in the most challenging format of the game. Gill, who has never led India in Tests and just been the deputy in the ODIs and T20Is, with probably a lone assignment as the skipper in T20Is, is being seen in India’s plan for a longer term and not just a series. This was the primary reason why he was preferred over the experienced Bumrah and Rahul, who have served as skipper’s on previous occasions.
BCCI rewards domestic performers, youngsters picked
Hard work, consistency and good performance never goes unnoticed. That’s exactly what the Indian cricket board proved on Saturday after the likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sai Sudharsan, and Karun Nair were included in the team’s squad for the England series. This has clearly pointed out to a strategy of rewarding the players with national seats who have been consistent performers at the domestic level.
The most notable inclusion is that of Nair, who last played a Test match for the team in 2017. The right-hander has got a call-up on back of a fabulous domestic performance and is likely to play a major role in the middle order. He would certainly be engaged in tough battle with Sudharsan for the number three spot, with seasoned batter KL Rahul and flamboyant Yashasvi Jaiswal expected as openers. in addition, spin-bowling all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar are expected to add depth to the squad and Nitish Kumar Reddy is also expected to play a key role in the middle-order.
Bumrah to spreadhead bowling, Arshdeep to offer variety
The bowling department of the Indian cricket team will rely majorly on pace spreadhead Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. After missing the Test series in Australia, Bumrah marked his return to competitive cricket after a long layoff and the pacer’s fitness would be of vital importance in the series. While Bumrah would be the torchbearer for the side in the Tests but chief selector Ajit Agarkar at the press conference said that the senior pacer won’t be available for the entire five games.
In the scenario, Siraj is expected to play a vital role along with left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who has earned a maiden Test call-up in the side. Arshdeep is expected to be a key component of India’s pace attack in England and the selection committee has expressed confidence on his quality and variety as he has tasted the county cricket couple of years back. If Bumrah is unable to play the entire series, the focus will shift on Arshdeep along with Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep, who are the other fast bowlers in the unit.
Shami and Sarfaraz dropped, Harshit Rana snubbed
While we had a look at the inclusions, veteran pacer Mohammad Shami emerged as the biggest name in the list of the players who were excluded from the squad. The reason behind Shami not being picked was that the star pacer was deemed not fit enough for the long series. From the tour of Australia, Harshit Rana and young batter Sarfaraz Khan were also not roped in for the crucial series. Anshul Kamboj, who was also in line to be picked along with Arshdeep, was ignored.
Shubman Gill was named as the skipper while Rishabh Pant his deputy as the BCCI announced the squad for India’s tour to England beginning on June 20. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
