Watch: BCCI confirms India’s openers for ENG Tests, Shubman Gill fires up team with intense speech

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has all but confirmed the new opening pair of Team India after the retirement of Rohit Sharma from Test cricket.

BCCI's big revelation was made during the intra-squad match between Team India and India A, and the newly-appointed Test captain, Shubman Gill, was also seen giving an intense speech before the commencement of the play.

Rohit Sharma's replacement as Test opener is all but confirmed

With Rohit Sharma retiring from Test cricket, the BCCI selectors and team management have zeroed in on KL Rahul as the new permanent opener of the Test team.

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This confirmation was made official via a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from Day 1 of the intra-squad match at the Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham.

In the video, there was a shot of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opening together, which all but confirmed this will be the opening pair in the five-match Test series against England.

It was actually an open secret, as earlier KL Rahul had opened the innings for Team India with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the absence of Rohit Sharma during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Let’s maintain our intensity - Shubman Gill

New Test captain Shubman Gill was seen giving an intense speech to the players in the huddle ahead of the start of the match, and he said:

“Let’s maintain our intensity, especially when we are fielding, let’s focus on the areas that we want to focus on as a team, as a bowling unit, and as a batting unit."

In the same video, Ravindra Jadeja was seen hitting Washington Sundar out of the park, and Shardul Thakur was seen celebrating after picking up the wickets, along with other notable things.

Also, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill shone in the intra-squad match as the duo hit brilliant fifties, confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

It’s really important for all of us to get this game time - Prasidh Krishna

Meanwhile, star pacer Prasidh Krishna, who recently had his best-ever campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Gujarat Titans, anchored the day’s round-up.

He highlighted the importance of getting some game time under their belt ahead of the start of the five-match Test series and also talked about how things panned out in the intra-squad game. Prasidh Krishna elaborated:

“It’s really important for all of us to get this game time because some of them are coming from the A game. Getting some time on one field is really, really important. That’s what’s going about today as well. And looks like a nice hard pitch. Bowlers have been in the game all throughout, bowling some really good spells, and batsmen have shown some character. It’s always good when you’re competing against each other as well. So yeah, all of us are excited and enjoying what’s happening," he added.

"It’s fun to have some fun people around, and you can’t really be focused for a really long time, especially when you’re sitting outside. So you make sure you have your bit of fun and when you can sense situations, you make sure you support your team by making sure you’re being switched on, because anything can happen in the industry of cricket in itself. But yeah, I think all of us are experienced enough to know when," he added.

Also Read: Pat Cummins' captaincy blunder in WTC Final exposed as Matthew Hayden, Dale Steyn go nuclear

Watch: BCCI shares highlights of India vs India A intra-squad match

Day 1 ✅

Prasidh Krishna wraps up the opening day of the intra-squad game in Beckenham 🏏

WATCH 🎥🔽 #TeamIndia | #ENGvIND | @prasidh43

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 14, 2025