At the starting line of a transition period, India head to England for a five-Test series starting next week. Here are the main selection questions they'll need to answer.
Find India's full squad for the England Tests here.
Who bats at No.4?
The visitors have been hit by three massive retirements since their last series. R Ashwin hung up his boots in Australia, before skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli did so in May. Rohit's replacement at the top of the order is quite straightforward, in the form of KL Rahul, but Kohli's at No.4 less so.
There have been calls for this – and it is largely expected – that new Test skipper Shubman Gill will drop one spot down from No.3 to fill that gap. For over three decades, it has been occupied by Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli, so it seems only natural that the successor to both of those players as the new poster boy of Indian cricket does the same.
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It may not be that simple, though. In July 2023, Gill revealed that he had asked to bat at No.3 against West Indies and as recently as March 2024, Gill's father (also his first coach) said after a century against England that he thought his son should have continued as an opener. These are not quite the signs of a batter looking to move down one spot.
Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir remained non-committal when asked about this at the pre-departure press conference, saying the team would take a call only after reaching the UK. At this point, India's new No.4 could be Gill, debutant Sai Sudharsan, the returning Karun Nair or potentially even the promising Dhruv Jurel, who bats mainly at No.6.
Five bowlers or four?
The lasting impression of Virat Kohli's India Test captaincy was that the Indian team heavily prioritised taking 20 wickets, home or away, at any cost. To this end, India came up with the template of playing five bowlers even sometimes at the cost of a slightly weaker batting lineup.
The captain-coach duo of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid continued with this, but there has been a slight shift with Gautam Gambhir at the helm. In Australia in particular, a combination of three out-and-out bowlers alongside three all-rounders backfired spectacularly as India lost the series 3-1 and Jasprit Bumrah picked up an injury.
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Ahead of the England tour, India do not have the "perfect" No.8 that it seems Gambhir is seeking. With all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja likely to play at No.7, India could effectively end up with four No.11s, leaving the batting short. Playing either Shardul Thakur or Nitish Kumar Reddy would solve that, but compromise on the bowling. It remains to be seen which bed India will want to make, and then be forced to lie in.
What does the lower-order look like?
Somewhat tied in to the question of four or five bowlers, is the makeup of the lower-order, specifically at Nos. six, seven and eight. Jadeja at No.7 was close to a sure thing even a day or two ago, but there is the possibility of leaving him out. Former India coach Sanjay Bangar put that forward on television on Thursday (June 12), saying that if India play one spinner, it should be Kuldeep Yadav, and Nitish Kumar Reddy should play as the all-rounder.
No.6 is also an open spot in the order, thanks to KL Rahul moving up from there to take over from Rohit at the top. Dhruv Jurel has impressed against the England Lions, while Karun Nair's experience in county cricket could earn him a spot. Sai Sudharsan is an option as well, having batted there for Surrey. Nitish Kumar Reddy has made an excellent start to Test cricket with the bat, and also gives India an extra seam-bowling option.
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And then of course, there's the No.8. Shardul Thakur gives India a bit with the bat and a decent bit with the ball, and that is one spot too high for Kuldeep Yadav or any potential fourth quick. Reddy could drop down there if India were to play an extra batter, or Washington Sundar could be a compromise as a high-quality bat for that position, and a decent enough second spinner.
Each option has its pros and cons, and it's tough to say now whether India persist with their NKR-Jadeja-Sundar axis as in Australia, or they want to change after seeing the results it provided.
Who is the third quick?
Two of India's pacers – Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj – are virtual locks in the XI. Had Mohammed Shami been fit and in the squad, he would walk in as the third but instead, India have some relatively raw options in that department.
At this point, Prasidh Krishna looks like the front-runner. He was solid against Australia in Sydney, and is coming off a stellar IPL campaign. Arshdeep Singh gives India a left-arm option, while Shardul Thakur can bat a bit. Akash Deep was impressive against England at home, and unlucky against Australia but has barely bowled in the last two months, and did not play the A games against the England Lions.
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Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj and Mukesh Kumar are the quicks from the A team who remain with the main squad. Kamboj in particular remains an intriguing option – he is a canny, restrictive, medium pacer who does also offer something with the bat (he scored a half-century in the second Lions game).
The answer here, once again, is not clear. Prasidh may well start the series, but one of the others will almost certainly need to play whenever Jasprit Bumrah is rested.
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