The first Test between England and India begins on June 20 in Leeds.
A new-look Indian team will face off against England in the first of the five Tests on June 20 in Leeds. Shubman Gill will be the new India captain, leading the team into battle, with veterans Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and R Ashwin having retired from the format.
In addition to marking the commencement of India's World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–2027 campaign, this series will also mark the beginning of the country's Test cricket transition.
Fans are still worried about Rohit and Kohli's absence, even though the visiting team includes many well-known players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and others.
Kapil Dev, the captain of India, who won the World Cup in 1983, recently blasted the supporters and encouraged them to forget about the Rohit-Kohli period. In addition to mentioning Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and others, he asked the supporters to support India's new team.
"Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Anil Kumble aren't there either. So, there's no point thinking about who isn't around. Yes, they will be missed, but we need to look at the next generation and be proud of them. Rohit has done his job; Virat has done his job. They made us proud, but let's see if the next generation of players can be bigger,” Kapil said on Aaj Tak.
Notably, in May, Rohit and Kohli each declared their plans to retire from Test cricket. They also ended their T20I careers earlier in 2024.
The great Sachin Tendulkar told Gill to concentrate on his own preparation and not consider the thoughts of people outside the dressing room on the eve of the first Test match in Leeds.
(PTI inputs)