In less than a month, the Indian cricket team will travel to England for a challenging red-ball tour. The tour will begin with India A’s warm-up matches before the senior team faces Ben Stokes’ side in a five-match series, marking the start of the 2025/27 World Test Championship cycle.
The BCCI has shortlisted 35 players for the India ‘A’ and Test teams, with the squad announcement expected by the second week of May. Despite his poor red-ball form from September 2024 to January 2025, Rohit Sharma has been included in the shortlist for both squads.
🚨 INDIA TOUR TO ENGLAND UPDATES 🚨 [TOI]
– Around 35 players have been shortlisted for India A & Senior team
– Rohit Sharma likely to continue as Captain
– Selectors are looking Patidar & Karun as Middle order options
– Sai Sudharsan likely to be the Backup opener
– Kuldeep set… pic.twitter.com/IzuJ6JqsGT— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 30, 2025
The 37-year-old scored just 155 runs in 13 innings at an average of 10.93, with only one half-century, including a poor 31 runs in five innings in Australia. Despite this, the report indicates that selectors are not ready to drop Rohit as captain for the upcoming tour.
“Rohit is most likely to travel as the board feels that one needs a strong captain through the series, which is likely to be as tough as the Australia tour,” a BCCI source told the national daily.
Karun Nair Competing with RCB Star for Test Spot
Karun Nair had a stellar 2024/25 Ranji Trophy season, scoring 863 runs at 53.94 with four centuries, playing a key role in Vidarbha’s third title. However, his place in the middle order is uncertain, as he could face competition from Rajat Patidar, the RCB captain in IPL 2025.
Both players may be tested in the India A series, starting shortly after the IPL concludes on May 25. Patidar, who played three Tests for India last year but scored only 63 runs, had a strong Ranji season with 529 runs from seven innings, including a rapid century.
“With regard to the middle-order, the team management has shown very little confidence in Sarfaraz Khan’s ability. Nair and Patidar are seasoned red-ball players and are in fine form. It is likely at least one of them will be in the India ‘A’ team,” the source added.
The report also mentioned that Sai Sudharsan is likely to be considered as a third opener, while Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel will not make the cut. “Iyer was dropped last year due to his underwhelming performances in Test cricket, and a final decision is still pending,” said a BCCI source.
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