India’s five-Test tour of England is slated to get underway on June 20 in Leeds, followed by matches at Edgbaston (July 2-6), Lord’s (July 10-14), Old Trafford (July 23-27) and The Oval (July 31-August 4).

With barely a week remaining for the marquee series, former cricketer Robin Uthappa has named his India playing XI for the first Test.

Notably, Uthappa left Shardul Thakur and Abhimanyu Easwaran out of his line-up. When choosing Yashasvi Jaiswal’s opening partner, he preferred KL Rahul over Easwaran.

“For me, I want to start stronger right at the top, and I would want KL Rahul to open there. With the kind of success he has gotten there, with just the way he batted in Australia, and the way he has batted in the past in England augurs well for India to get him to open the batting," Uthappa was quoted as saying by Star Sports.

Robin Uthappa slotted Sai Sudharsan at No. 4, followed by the newly-appointed skipper Shubman Gill.

“At No. 3, I would love to see someone like Sai Sudharsan because of how technically right he is, and the potential he possesses as what we feel and believe he can do and achieve in Test cricket. No. 4, Shubman Gill for sure," he said.

As for the middle to lower-middle order, Uthappa explained: “My No. 5 would be Karun Nair because you want a little bit of experience there. No. 6 – Rishabh Pant, I love him at No. 6. I think that’s his sweet spot. At No. 7, I will have Nitish Kumar Reddy because he is a proper fast-bowling all-rounder, your fourth fast-bowling option."

In the spin department, Uthappa picked Ravindra Jadeja over Kuldeep Yadav, highlighting Jadeja’s batting capabilities in English conditions.

“I will have Jadeja. Again, increased depth, scores runs, and has scored runs in England as well in Test cricket. So I will have him at No. 8," he said.

“I see Siraj playing that role. Siraj has to be a lot more disciplined, though. One change, you will like to see Prasidh Krishna come in, and Nitish Kumar Reddy again to support the fast bowlers," Uthappa added.

Robin Uthappa’s playing XI for first Test vs England: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah