How India’s England tour squad differs from Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 18-member squad for the upcoming tour of England on Saturday, May 24. The highlight of the announcement was the appointment of Shubman Gill as the new Test captain of India.

The squad has seen only minimal changes from the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). Notably, senior players Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli, who were part of the BGT, are not there as they have recently retired from red-ball cricket. The veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is also not there as he also announced his retirement from the Test format during the BGT itself.

The other exclusions from the recently announced squad are Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, Harshit Rana, and Tanush Kotian, who were part of the BGT squad.

For the England tour, India has included S Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav. Sudharsan has been brought in to strengthen the top order, while Karun Nair returns to the Test setup after a gap of 2,979 days since his last appearance for India.

Also Read: India’s Test squad for England tour 2025 announced: Full team, captain, new players & omissions

Padikkal misses out on the England tour due to injury, which is the primary reason for his absence. Harshit Rana was not particularly effective on Australian soil which might have led to his omission. In the current squad, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has been included due to his experience playing county cricket for Kent. Shardul Thakur also returns to the squad as he has familiarity with the English conditions.

The squad features two all-rounder spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar while Kuldeep Yadav has been brought in as a specialist spinner. The left-arm spinner is expected to play a key role in the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin. The wrist spinner's unique bowling style can be a major asset against English batters and may prove to be an important cog in the wheel.