Wasim Jaffer unveils his Indian XI for the first test against England, Nitish Kumar Reddy dropped

Wasim Jaffer backed skipper Shubman Gill to bat at four in the first test against England.

Former cricketer Wasim Jaffer has named his Indian Cricket Team XI for the first test against the England Cricket Team. The five-match series between the teams is all set to begin from 20th June at Headingley in Leeds and will conclude with the fifth test, scheduled to take place from 31st July at the Kia Oval in London.

India have been putting in hard yards ahead of the first test. The Shubman Gill-led side reached Leeds recently, but before that, they had a good time in the middle as they played a three-day intra-squad game against India A. Also, some players represented the A side during the unofficial test series against the England Lions. 

With the first test around the corner, Wasim Jaffer shared his take on what XI India could field against England in Leeds. According to him, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul will be there as openers. The duo performed the same role in Australia and were successful as a pair. 

At three, Jaffer was confused between Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Both the batters have been in terrific form of late, and whoever plays will be making his debut in the game. While Easwaran looked in good touch in the unofficial test series against England Lions, Sudharsan was the leading run-getter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. 

Jaffer backed Shubman Gill to bat at four, followed by Rishabh Pant at five. The captain and the vice-captain will be holding the key for the side in the entire series. It’s fair to say that the outcome of the series will depend on the way they perform with the bat. 

Karun Nair, who is making his comeback in the Indian team after eight long years, will take the number six spot in Jaffer’s Indian playing XI for the first test. Ravindra Jadeja will be there as an all-rounder, as per the former Indian cricketer. 

He picked one between Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav depending on the conditions. While his pace battery included Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. 

Wasim Jaffer names his Indian XI for first test against England 

Here’s Wasim Jaffer’s Indian XI for the first test against England: 

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan/Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

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