India's new opening pair finalised for England tour, Shubman Gill set for demotion

Shubman Gill might have been in the race to become India’s next Test captain, but he has reportedly been out of consideration for the opening role on the upcoming England tour. After Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket, the Indian selectors are on the hunt for the ideal opener and captain.

Additionally, they will also have to find out a suitable No. 4 batter, as Virat Kohli had also called time on his illustrious Test career earlier this month. Well, there are definitely multiple opportunities on the Test side at the moment, but there are chances of a reshuffle in the remaining squad.

Till now, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal were opening for India, and Shubman Gill was taking the number three spot, with Virat Kohli batting at No.4, followed by KL Rahul. And in Rohit’s absence on the Australia tour, Rahul and Yashasvi opened the innings for India on the Australia tour.

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KL Rahul set to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill to replace Virat Kohli at No. 4 in England Test series

Now, a Cricbuzz report claimed that the same combination will go forward after Rohit’s retirement. There were hopes that Shubman Gill would return as an opener in the upcoming five-match Test series in England, but there are high chances of Rahul joining Yashasvi at the top of the batting order.

In a fresh twist, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has reportedly given KL Rahul a hint at returning to the top of the order. According to the Cricbuzz report, Rahul will open the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the upcoming five-match Test series.

This shake-up would push Shubman Gill down to the No. 4 position, a spot previously owned by Virat Kohli. With Kohli retired from the format, Gill is likely to be groomed for the crucial middle-order role. Notably, he is also the frontrunner to become India’s next Test captain.

Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan in race for No.3 spot in India's XI

Meanwhile, there is a race between left-handed in-form batter Sai Sudharsan and the experienced Karun Nair for the No. 3 spot in the Test line-up. Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan are both making strong cases for a spot in the India squad, thanks to their brilliant performances in domestic and IPL cricket.

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Nair has been in top form, scoring 863 runs in nine Ranji Trophy matches, including four centuries. He also smashed 779 runs in just eight innings during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with five hundreds to his name.

Nair led his team to the Ranji Trophy victory and a runner-up finish in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He's already part of the India A squad for the upcoming England tour and is now expected to be added to the senior team as well.

No big changes in India's squad that played BGT 2024-25 for the England tour

Sudharsan, who is the top run-getter in the IPL 2025 with 638 runs, is also in line for Test selection. He has already been picked for India A’s second game against the England Lions and is likely to be drafted into the senior side too.

Apart from a few changes, it is being said that India’s Test squad for the upcoming Test series against England is likely to remain largely the same as the one that toured Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.