The Indian cricket team is making some changes ahead of the England Tests. With the first match in Leeds just three days away, the squad, coached by Gautam Gambhir, looks to strengthen its lineup. On May 24, they announced an 18-member squad, featuring some fresh faces after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired. Sai Sudharshan got his first Test call-up, and Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur are back in action.
Another thing that stands out is the inclusion of five fast bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh. According to a report from Dainik Jagran, Harshit Rana has also been added, making him the potential 19th member of the team, though there hasn’t been any official word from the BCCI yet.
Sources told IANS that Rana will stay with the Indian Test team, but it’s still unclear if he’ll officially be part of the squad for the series starting on June 20. Players from India ‘A’ who aren’t in the main squad might be heading back home soon. In England, Rana played against the England Lions at Canterbury, where he took 1 for 99 and scored 16 runs.
Rana made his Test debut during last year’s tour in Australia, taking only four wickets with his best being 3 for 48 in Perth. He wasn’t picked for the upcoming series against England because the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, chose Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna for the fast-bowling spots along with Bumrah and Siraj.
Overall, Rana has a first-class bowling average of 27.79 from 13 games, taking 48 wickets, and he averages 32.80 with the bat, with one century and two fifties to his name. Under captain Shubman Gill, the team hopes to win a Test series in England for the first time since 2007. The five-match series will be held at Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford, and The Oval, marking India’s first challenge in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.
India’s squad ( official): Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav