Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shardul Thakur out as T20 World Cup winning star Robin Uthappa picks India's playing XI for 1st Test against England

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa picked Shubman Gill-led side's playing XI for the first Test match against England which is scheduled to take place from June 20 to 24 at Yorkshire Cricket Ground in England. He notably excluded Shardul Thakur and Abhimanyu Easwaran from his playing XI for the first clash.

India are scheduled to play a five-Test match series against England, where Shubman Gill will lead the side and Rishabh Pant will be his deputy. Shardul Thakur is one of India's fast bowling all-rounders, and Nitish Kumar Reddy is another one.

While asked to pick Yashasvi Jaiswal's opening partner, India's T20 World Cup-winning star Uthappa picked KL Rahul instead of Abhimanyu Easwaran, considering his performance in Australia.

ALSO READ: LSG's Nicholas Pooran named captain of this franchise shortly after retirement from international cricket

"For me, I want to start stronger right at the top, and I would want KL Rahul to open there. With the kind of success he has gotten there, with just the way he batted in Australia, and the way he has batted in the past in England augurs well for India to get him to open the batting," Utappa told Star Sports.

Uthappa picked Sai Sudharsan and skipper Shubman Gill as number three and number four, respectively.

"At No. 3, I would love to see someone like Sai Sudharsan because of how technically right he is, and the potential he possesses as what we feel and believe he can do and achieve in Test cricket. No. 4, Shubman Gill for sure," Uthappa observed.

Uthappa picked Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair and Nitish Kumar Reddy to complete his top 7 in the playing XI for the first Test against England.

ALSO READ: West Indies announce 16-man Test squad for Australia series, no place for veteran bowler with 285 wickets, maiden call-up for 3 players

"My No. 5 would be Karun Nair because you want a little bit of experience there. No. 6 - Rishabh Pant, I love him at No. 6. I think that's his sweet spot. At No. 7, I will have Nitish Kumar Reddy because he is a proper fast-bowling all-rounder, your fourth fast-bowling option," he elaborated.

Uthappa picked Ravindra Jadeja over Kuldeep Yadav for the spin options, citing his abilities to bat in English conditions.

"I will have Jadeja. Again, increased depth, scores runs, and has scored runs in England as well in Test cricket. So I will have him at No. 8," he said.

"I see Siraj playing that role. Siraj has to be a lot more disciplined though. One change, you will like to see Prasidh Krishna come in, and Nitish Kumar Reddy again to support the fast bowlers," Uthappa observed.

Robin Uthappa's playing XI for first Test vs England: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah