Since the squad was announced, Gautam Gambhir there has been much discussion and speculation about how India might line up for the first Test in Leeds. The retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Test cricket have given India plenty to consider ahead of the upcoming Test series against England, starting June 20.
Gautam Gambhir: Recently, some Indian players featured in two unofficial Tests against the England Lions. In the second match at Northampton, KL Rahul scored a century in the first innings and followed it up with another fifty-plus score, effectively securing his spot as one of the openers.
Gautam Gambhir: Robin Uthappa’s Suggested India Test Batting and Bowling Line-up
Former India opener Robin Uthappa has urged head coach Gautam Gambhir to retain KL Rahul as opener alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. He advocated for including southpaw Sai Sudharsan at No. 3, pushing captain Shubman Gill to No. 4 and Karun Nair to No. 5.
Uthappa said, “For me, I want to start stronger right at the top, and I would want KL Rahul to open there. Gautam Gambhir, 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.”
He continued, “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. My No. 5 would be Karun Nair because you want a little bit of experience there.”
Gautam Gambhir: For the middle and lower order, Uthappa picked Rishabh Pant as wicketkeeper at No. 6 and Nitish Kumar Reddy, a fast-bowling all-rounder, at No. 7 to add batting depth. He chose Ravindra Jadeja as the lone spinner at No. 8, citing Jadeja’s ability to contribute runs and his success in England.
In the pace department, Uthappa selected Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna as the frontline bowlers.
