Wasim Jaffer names his squad for England series, excludes Nitish Kumar Reddy-Sai Sudharsan

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer has named his preferred 16-member squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England, notably excluding Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy. With the official announcement to be made on May 24, India’s red-ball team will begin a new season post-Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's retirements.

The upcoming England series, starting June 20, will be the beginning of a new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for India. The national selectors have a tough task in rebuilding the squad and naming a new Test captain. In Jaffer's squad, Sudharsan’s exclusion is the most notable absentee.

The left-hander has been in brilliant form in IPL 2025 and is regarded as one of the most technically gifted young batters in the country. Despite his stellar performances for Gujarat Titans and in the domestic circuit, Jaffer opted for India A captain Abhimanyu Easwaran as a backup opener alongside KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar Reddy's omission also caught attention. The young all-rounder impressed in his debut Test series during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, particularly with the bat. However, his recent form in IPL 2025 while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he struggled for could have influenced Jaffer’s decision. Notably, both of them are part of the India A squad for the two first-class matches against the England Lions.

Check Wasim Jaffer's tweet below:

Wasim Jaffer@WasimJaffer14

My India squad for Eng tour: 1. Yashasvi 2. KL 3. Shubman (vc) 4. Iyer/Karun 5. Pant (wk) 6. Jadeja 7. Shardul 8. Kuldeep 9. Shami 10. Bumrah (c) 11. Siraj 12. Easwaran 13. Jurel (wk) 14. Sarfaraz 15. Arshdeep/Prasiddh/Akashdeep 16. Washington What's yours? #ENGvIND

12:03 PM · May 22, 2025

1.8K72

The former has also picked Jasprit Bumrah as the new Test captain, with Shubman Gill as vice-captain. However, according to reports, Gill is set to be named the next Test skipper. But Jaffer seems to prefer Bumrah’s experience of leading India in overseas conditions.

He has also named the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Karun Nair to strengthen the middle order, and preferred Washington Sundar over Axar Patel as a spinning all-rounder. Among pacers, Jaffer has gone with the experience of Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and the youngsters Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and Akash Deep as backup options.

Wasim Jaffer's squad for England series:

KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill (VC), Karun Nair/Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (C), Mohammed Siraj, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Arshdeep Singh/Prasidh Krishna/Akash Deep, Washington Sundar.