India tour of England: Eyes on Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah as new era awaits for Team India

A new chapter will begin in Indian cricket starting June 20 as they start the England tour in the post-Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma era. While the eyes are still on the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025), the focus is already on the England tour as the selectors are set to meet on Saturday (May 24) to decide on the squad. The meeting set to be attended by head coach Gautam Gambhir will have major ramifications not just on the England series but also on upcoming times of Indian cricket.

Eyes on Gill, Bumrah

With the 15-man squad on the agenda, the selectors panel led by Ajit Agarkar will be keen to reward players from the domestic circuit. However, the main focus will be on Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill who are front runners to lead the Indian team. The vacant post of Test captaincy is of much debate after Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format earlier in the month. Gill is the most likely to get the captaincy nod while Bumrah’s selection won’t surprise many.

KL Rahul is another man in conversation for the captaincy role having impressed in instalments whenever given the opportunity. Interestingly, the trio of Rahul, Gill and Bumrah has led the Indian team in different series in the past. Gill’s impressive stint as captain in IPL could see him land the captaincy role in Test format.

Karun Nair, Abhimanyu Easwaran in line for England tour

After having a great domestic campaign Karun Nair and Abhimanyu Easwaran are set to be rewarded with a place in the 15-man squad. Nair scored six hundreds in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and was in conversation for a place in the Indian Champions Trophy squad. On the other hand, Easwaran was picked for the Australian tour but did not play in any matches with competition for places. However, with Virat and Rohit, no longer part of the team, it could pave the way for the duo to claim a spot in the Playing XI.