ENG vs IND 2025: Wasim Jaffer picks India's Playing XI for first Test at Headingley

Published - 18 Jun 2025, 11:08 IST | Updated - 18 Jun 2025, 11:47 IST

India are all set to begin their five-match Test series against England with the first match at Headingley, Leeds, which is scheduled to start on June 20. This will also see both the sides starting their World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle and would certainly hope to make it count right from the word 'go'. The visiting Indian side will also see them being led by a new captain in Shubman Gill.

Gill will have a big challenge ahead of him, as playing in the United Kingdom against a formidable English squad is not going to be an easy at all. And ahead of the contest, former India batter Wasim Jaffer has shared his ideal playing XI that could help Gill find a winning combination in the Leeds Test against the Ben Stokes-led England.

Jaffer's top-order for the first Test includes Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul as openers, whereas one of Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sai Sudharsan would make it for No. 3. It seems that Jaffer has played a perfect top-order, who have the experience of playing swing, but only Rahul has played an international game in England previously. For No. 4, the former India batter has picked skipper Gill to take charge, taking up the spot previously held by Virat Kohli.

Deputy to Gill, Rishabh Pant will be batting at five and also handle the wicketkeeping responsibilities, whereas Karun Nair should bat at No. 6 followed by experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Notably, Jaffer has also kept Jadeja as a spin option, with Kuldeep Yadav also finding a spot in his Playing XI. All-rounder Shardul Thakur, who is coming on the back of a fantastic domestic season, has also been added. However, only one of Shardul and Kuldeep will be making it to the final mix.

Lastly, the frontline pace-bowling troika chosen by the cricketer-turned-expert includes spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as the first choice, with Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj providing support to the star pacer from the other end. All-in-all, the squad looks pretty balanced and certainly seems to be a side that can win matches by the turning the games on their heads.

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