Former Indian batter and cricket expert Aakash Chopra has revealed his playing XI for India for the upcoming five-match Test series opener against England, which is set to begin on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds. With a number of new names in the mix and some experienced players returning, Chopra’s selection has turned many heads.
Chopra has picked KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal as his opening pair for India after Rohit Sharma retired from the longest format of the game. He said in a video posted by Star Sports, X: “Of course, Shubman Gill is there, but Jaiswal and KL Rahul will be my openers.”
In a surprise move, the former Indian batter has backed Sai Sudharsan to make his Test debut at the crucial No. 3 spot in Leeds. Sudharsan, who had an outstanding IPL 2025 season with over 750 runs, has been rewarded for his consistency and composure in red-ball cricket.
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Interestingly, Chopra left out Karun Nair, who made a strong comeback into the Test squad after scoring massive runs in the domestic cricket. Even Nair scored a double century for India A against England Lions, but he still has not found a place in Chopra’s playing XI.
The cricket pundit reserves the No. 4 spot for India’s new Test captain, Shubman Gill. Chopra then picked Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper-batter and India’s number five batter despite his having had a poor IPL 2025 season with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Aakash Chopra picks three all-rounders in his playing XI
Another notable omission is the talented all-rounder Washington Sundar. The off-spinner performed well in past Test series against New Zealand and Australia. He was even picked before the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, but Chopra overlooked Sundar for the Leeds Test.
His middle order features an all-rounder trio of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shardul Thakur. Nitish impressed during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he played all five tests.
Speaking about their selection, Chopra said, “I am still playing Nitish Kumar Reddy at 6, as a batter who can give you a few overs, but purely primarily as a batter. Ravindra Jadeja, who is my all-rounder, and Shardul Thakur are my all-rounders. But I am considering Shardul as a full bowling option in Leeds.”
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For the bowling attack, Chopra has picked Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to lead the charge with the new ball. Prasidh Krishna, who had a fantastic IPL 2025 with 25 wickets for Gujarat Titans and won the Purple Cap, earned a spot in the former batter’s XI as the third seamer.
The commentator has picked Krishna over Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh. Chopra signed off by saying, “And then in my bowling options, Bumrah, Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna. I couldn’t make a space for the left-armer Arshdeep Singh, but this will be my playing XI for the first Test against England.”
Here's Aakash Chopra’s India XI for the first Test against England:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.
What’s your Playing 11 for the first Test against England? ?@cricketaakash put forward a strong lineup. Would you make any changes to the side? ?#ENGvIND | 1st Test starts 20th June, 2:30 PM, Streaming On JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/0DzQgyn9WH
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 6, 2025
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