Rishabh Pant, the wicketkeeper-batter for Team India, was named the vice-captain for the future, earning him a notable boost in the Test team. After Rohit Sharma retired, ace batsman Shubman Gill became the new Test captain, and Pant would be serving as his deputy. The series against England, which is less than a few days away, will be the pair’s first task. Pant has made an important announcement in advance of the series.
Pant eventually cleared the air during the pre-match conference in Leeds on June 18 about Shubman Gill’s new batting position in the red ball team. He verified that Gill will now bat at the fourth position in the format, which Virat Kohli has occupied for much of his career. The second-in-command further stated that he will continue to bat at number five.
However, the batter who would be India’s No. 3 batsman in the red-ball team is the biggest puzzle with Gill losing his batting place. Following the retirement of veterans like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the team’s top competitors right now appear to be Karun Nair, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and B Sai Sudharsan. All three have been playing really well lately.
The opening Test of the series is scheduled on June 20 at Headingley Stadium in Leeds. An important contest between Indian bowlers and English hitters will take place during the thrilling five-day match. With Chris Woakes back as the starting pacer and Ben Stokes at the top of the pack, England has already revealed their starting lineup for the match.
India squad for 1st Test vs England
Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, B Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Siraj
