Sai Sudharsan snubbed as India playing XI for 1st Test against England announced by ex-cricketer

Former India National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta has named his preferred India playing XI for the Test series opener against the England National Cricket Team.

Deep Dasgupta has shockingly left out the young batting sensation Sai Sudharsan from his team and given the No.3 spot to the comeback man Karun Nair.

I will go with Karun Nair, he has the experience - Deep Dasgupta ignores Sai Sudharsan

Speaking on Star Sports, Dasgupta explained why he went with the veteran Karun Nair over youngster Sai Sudharsan. He said that Nair brings a plethora of experience with him and is in good form, that India need to use that. He said:

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"I have been thinking over the last few days who I would play between Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan. I will go with Karun Nair. He has the experience, is playing after such a long time, and you might as well play him if he is in the team.

"Sai Sudharsan is 23 years old and is in good form. You want to use that form properly, but I will still go with Karun."

Karun Nair, who is India's second triple-centurion after Virender Sehwag, earned his India recall after grinding hard in domestic cricket and delivering stellar performances on a consistent basis.

He also travelled with the India A squad to England and in the first game against England Lions, he slammed a terrific double century (204) and then in the second match, returned with scores of 40 and 15.

Sai Sudharsan - the next big thing?

The 23-year-old left-handed batsman Sai Sudharsan is rated as one of the most talented cricketers in the world. He is a product of the Tamil Nadu Premier League [TNPL], but quickly established himself as an all-format cricketer.

In 2022, he was roped in by the Gujarat Titans (GT) for INR 20 lakh, and from thereon, his career took flight. He improved his performances season by season, and in the recent IPL 2025, he won the Orange Cap for slamming 759 runs in 15 matches at an average of 54.21 and a strike rate of 156.17.

Sai Sudharsan has already got his India ODI and T20I caps and has received backing from several experts to make his Test debut in England. Following his India Test call-up, the BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar had said that they had eyes on the youngster for a long time and included him in the squad as a few spots opened.

Nitish Kumar Reddy picked in the India playing XI over Shardul Thakur

Meanwhile, Deep Dasgupta further picked Nitish Kumar Reddy over Shardul Thakur in his team despite the latter looking more impressive in recent matches.

Dasgupta added that the left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav will be a regular member in his playing XI unless the conditions are extremely seamer-friendly. He said:

"So Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun at No. 3, Shubman Gill at No. 4, Rishabh Pant at No. 5, Nitish Kumar Reddy at No. 6, who will play as a batter and can bowl if required, and Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7.

"Regarding Kuldeep Yadav, if the conditions aren't too seamer-friendly, I will always prefer a wrist-spinner, especially when we talk about Bazball cricket. I feel a wrist-spinner will be an advantage against that, and I believe Kuldeep Yadav can become a huge factor right through the series. Then the three seamers are in front of you," he added.

Deep Dasgupta's India Playing XI For 1st Test Against England: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Also Read: Kuldeep Yadav officially announces he's taking over Rohit Sharma’s place in Team India