India's Playing 11 vs England for the 1st Test sealed; KL Rahul to open, Nitish Kumar Reddy OUT

Former Team India head coach Anil Kumble has picked his playing XI for the first Test of the upcoming five-match series against England. The former leg-spinner snubbed players like Nitish Kumar Reddy and Arshdeep Singh for the opening Test of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27.

On May 24, the BCCI announced the Test squad for the upcoming series against England following the retirements of senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Notably, the selectors picked a fresh-look team, with Shubman Gill appointed as the new captain and Rishabh Pant named vice-captain.

Shubman Gill Wants to Bat at Four - Anil Kumble

In a conversation with ESPNcricinfo, Anil Kumble shared his thoughts on India’s playing XI. He said that Shubman Gill wants to bat at No. 4. Kumble said KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal should open. He said that one of Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sai Sudharsan can bat at No. 3 based on their performance.

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"What I've heard is that Shubman wants to bat at four. So if that's the case, and we go with the new skipper having a say in where he wants to bat, then open with Rahul and Jaiswal. At number three, depending on the performances of Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sai Sudharsan, one of them can take that spot," Kumble said.

Anil Kumble Snubs Nitish Kumar Reddy and Arshdeep Singh from India Playing XI

Anil Kumble picked Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Karun Nair for the middle-order positions for India vs England. The cricketer-turned-commentator included just one spinner, Ravindra Jadeja, in the playing XI. Notably, he excluded Nitish Kumar Reddy to accommodate Shardul Thakur.

Kumble stated that Shardul can be effective both as a bowler and a lower-order batter in early summer conditions. He completed his lineup with a pace trio of Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, and Akash Deep.

"Four Shubman, five Rishabh, and six, I think, Karun ahead of Jurel — I would look at that. Then at seven, you have Jadeja. At eight, I think early on in the summer conditions, I would want Shardul as a bowler. Yes, as a batter at number eight, I think he is good. And the three seamers would be Prasidh, then Bumrah, of course, and Akash Deep," Kumble stated.

Anil Kumble’s Predicted Playing XI for India’s First Test vs England

KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran/Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep

Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur have been recalled to the India Test squad. Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh have earned their first call-ups for red-ball cricket. Karun had a strong 2024-25 domestic season with Vidarbha and last played a Test match during the 2017 home series against Australia.

The team also includes two pace-bowling all-rounders: Nitish Kumar Reddy, who impressed in his Test debut in Australia, and Shardul Thakur. Ravindra Jadeja will lead the spin attack, supported by Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar. Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana have been dropped.

Also read: Revealed- Josh Hazlewood will join RCB playing 11 from which match?