Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav out as Ravi Shastri picks India's playing XI for 1st Test against England

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has picked the playing XI for the Shubman Gill-led side for the first Test match against England, which will take place at the Yorkshire Cricket Ground in Leeds from June 20 to 24. Shastri suggested that Team India go with four fast bowlers and a spinner for the opener clash against England.

Shastri, who was India's head coach during the Virat Kohli-led side's maiden win in Australia, picked veteran all-rounder Shardul Thakur over Nitish Kumar Reddy as the fast bowling all-rounder. He suggested that KL Rahul should open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, considering their performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

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"It would be (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, and with him will be KL. Rahul, because I think this is a big tour for him. He's the most experienced of the batsmen," Shastri began as he listed his side, as quoted from the official website of ICC.

"He opened last time when India toured England, got a hundred, (and) had a good tour. So I would hope for him to open the innings," he said.

"Three, I'll go with the youngster, Sai Sudarshan," he added.

"Whatever I've seen of him, he's very impressive. This will be good exposure for him, this tour," he noted

“I would go with three fast bowlers, (plus) Shardul Thakur. I know it’ll be a tough one between Shardul and Nitish Reddy, but you have to see who bowls how much. If Reddy is going to give you 12 or 14 overs, then he might get the nod because of his batting,” Shastri told ICC Review.

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Shubman Gill to lead India in the upcoming five-Test match series against England as Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the longest format of the game. Apart from Rohit, Kohli has also announced his retirement from the longest format of the game in May ahead of the England tour.

Ravi Shastri’s India Playing XI

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna / Arshdeep Singh

Bench: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna / Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep