Stuart Broad snubs 'Player of the series' Shubman Gill as he picks England batter despite average of 34 in India-England Playing XI

England's legendary pacer Stuart Broad picked a combined India-England XI for the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 which ended in a draw. After the dramatic six-run win, Harry Brook and India captain Shubman Gill were adjudged joint-winner for the 'Player of the series' award. However, Broad snubbed the highest run-scorer of the series, Gill from the combined XI.

On 'For The Love of Cricket' podcast, Broad picked Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul as the two openers. While Rahul scored over 500 runs, England's Ben Duckett had more runs than Jaiswal.  

At no.3, he picked Ollie Pope. The vice-captain managed to score 306 runs from nine innings at an average of 34. His only century came in the opening Test of the series at Headingley, Leeds. While Pope was still the best no.3 batter in the series with India’s Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair struggling, Broad could have picked Gill at no.3. The former pacer put Joe Root at the no.4 spot ahead of Gill. 

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At no.5, he included Harry Brook. He followed it up with England captain Ben Stokes and India's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. 

No Jadeja, Sundar gets his place

Another notable omission from the combined XI is Ravindra Jadeja as he opted for Washington Sundar. Both Jadeja and Sundar picked four wickets each. However, Jadeja was exceptional with the bat, scoring 516 runs at an average of 85, including a century and five fifties. On the other hand, Sundar scored 284 runs at an average of 47.33, including a century and a half-century.

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Archer over Tongue in pace department

The three pacers in Broad's side are Jofra Archer, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. While Siraj and Bumrah are automatic choices, Broad snubbed Josh Tongue who took most wickets for England. Tongue finished the series as the second-highest wicket-taker. He claimed 19 wickets from three Tests at an average of 29.05, including a fifer at The Oval. On the other hand, returning to Test cricket after four years, Archer bagged nine wickets from two games. 

Stuart Broad’s IND-ENG combined XI -

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Jofra Archer, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah