The Men in Blue head to England for their first assignment of the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle with a new captain in Shubman Gill. In this five-match Test series, they will look to start their transitional phase on a positive note.
Ahead of the first Test between England and India at Headingley, here are our preview and predictions.
New captain Gill will be leading a young and inexperienced squad in England, with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant being two of the team’s most experienced batters. Rahul is set to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal, while the No. 3 spot remains undecided, with Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan both in contention. Gill has stated that he will come in at No. 4, with Karun Nair — who returns to India’s red-ball setup after eight years — coming in at No. 5.
Pant, arguably the team’s most dynamic batter, will have to shoulder a lot of responsibility alongside Rahul. Ravindra Jadeja and one of Shardul Thakur or Nitish Kumar Reddy will make up the lower order ahead of the quicks, who will round out the batting order. With Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj being their lead pacers, India go into the opening Test with bowling as their strong suit; the likes of Gill, Rahul, and Pant will have their task cut out with the bat.
The hosts, on the other hand, have already announced their playing XI, with Ben Stokes also leading a relatively young team. England’s top order will consist of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett opening the innings and the ever-reliable Joe Root at No. 3. Harry Brook has locked in the No. 4 spot, with Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith, and Chris Woakes making a lengthy lower order.
While England have a reliable and strong batting line-up, it is their bowling attack which will be a little under pressure. Stokes will have Woakes, Josh Tongue, Sam Cook, Brydon Carse, and Jamie Overton as his main pacers. Going with an all-out seam attack at Headingley, they have Shoaib Bashir as the lone spinner, though Pope and Root can also roll over their arms if needed.
The Headingley pitch has a bit of green cover on it this time, but it is known to wear out by the end of the second day, which means we could see a dry strip for the series opener. Chiefly, it will be a battle of India’s bowlers against England’s batters.
There should be something for batters in the opening days, but expect it to be a flat strip by the end of the match, with hosts England holding the advantage.
Fantasy XI: Ben Duckett, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Chris Woakes, Shoaib Bashir, Jasprit Bumrah
Venue: Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds
Winners Prediction: England
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