Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair are reportedly in contention for the Indian squad that will tour England for a five-Test series beginning June 20. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to announce the squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England on May 24, Saturday.
Shubman Gill is expected to be crowned the new India Test captain, with Rishabh Pant likely to be his deputy. Gill will take over from Rohit Sharma, who announced his Test retirement on May 9, while Virat Kohli did the same on May 12.
Barring a couple of odd new names, the squad will comprise virtually the same names that toured Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in November-January.
Cricbuzz has reported that due to their strong performances during the previous domestic season, Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair are probably going to receive spots. Nair might be included in the squad because of his impressive domestic scoring record, which included 863 runs with four hundreds in nine Ranji Trophy games and 779 runs with five hundreds in eight Vijay Hazare Trophy innings.
With 638 runs, Sudharsan (23), the IPL's top run scorer right now, is also anticipated to secure a spot. He is expected to be included in the senior squad as well, having already been selected for the India A team's second game against the England Lions.
According to the report, head coach Gautam Gambhir has subtly hinted that KL Rahul will have to bat up front. If that strategy works, Gill is probably going to drop to No. 4, and Rahul is anticipated to partner with Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top. That might allow someone like Nair or Sudharsan to take the No. 3 spot.
Sarfaraz Khan might be able to join the team, but Devdutt Padikkal, who was a member of the BGT squad, is still not entirely recovered.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Harshit Rana will be the pacers since Mohammed Shami is out, while Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja will be the spinners and all-rounders.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur might also find a berth. Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel will be the two wicketkeepers, and Kuldeep Yadav may be the only specialist spinner.
Probable India Test squad for England tour:
Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav.
(Cricbuzz input)
