It's very exciting to play in this part of the world where you face different challenges: Shardul Thakur

Published - 17 Jun 2025, 21:31 IST | Updated - 17 Jun 2025, 22:39 IST

India are all set to take England on in the upcoming five-match Test series. The eagerly-awaited contest will get underway on June 20 at Headingley. There will understandably be a lot of expectations from the Shubman Gill-led outfit heading into this series.

Bowling all-rounder, Shardul Thakur, looked back at the tour of England in 2021-22 as one of the most memorable moments for him.

"I think the '21 series where we won a couple of games. The first one also we could've won but unfortunately, it rained on the last day and we couldn't chase down the total. But then, we won at Lord's, then we won at The Oval and then we came back for the fifth Test next year. The series was level but that was one of the fondest memories for me, one of the best Test series that I've been part of," shared Shardul while speaking to the BCCI's social media team.

Shardul was looking forward to embracing the challenges posed by English conditions.

"I think it's very exciting to play in this part of the world where you face different challenges. The first one of course is weather. Sometimes it's cloudy, sometimes it's bright and sunny and as a player you need to make adjustments to your game whether you are batting or bowling," Shardul added.

Shardul was excited in playing alongside emerging talents in the Test unit, and emphasised that a series win would be massive for the country and Indian cricket.

"It's good to have that fresh energy in the team. Few youngsters are coming up and new talents are always exciting. Now that England team is also playing a different kind of cricket, you would like to surprise them also that we are here to put up a show. And it's always great to win away series. If we could achieve this feat, it would be massive for the entire nation," said Shardul.

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This will be Shardul's second tour of England. His first one was in 2021-22 where there was a 2-2 deadlock between the two sides in the five-match series. The first game in Nottingham was drawn. England won the fifth match by seven wickets to draw level.