India's pace attack in Test cricket bears a new look on their tour of England. Here are six quicks who slipped through in the last few years.
Ishant Sharma
India's gradual phasing out of Ishant Sharma somewhat marked the start of the transition for their fast-bowling stocks. Having burst onto the scene as a teenager in 2007, it took almost a decade before Ishant truly found his best in the Test whites. In the latter years of Virat Kohli's reign as skipper, he was one of his most trusted players.
November 2021, towards the start of the 2021-23 WTC cycle, was when Ishant last played for India. Injuries and age have both played their part, but India's bowling performance at Headingley recently had several fans calling for his presence in the side (more out of hope and/or nostalgia than anything).
Ishant has remained active in domestic cricket, playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy and IPL at the age of 36 this year. India have well and truly moved on from him, but he was, of course, a fantastic servant at his peak.
Mohammed Shami
Shami's 'will he-won't he', fitness-wise, was a key talking point ahead of the squad announcement for the ongoing England series. But now, having not made it, it would appear that his time with the Test team is done.
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He hasn't played Test cricket for India since the 2023 WTC final – and not necessarily because India wanted to move on. Safe to say Shami's ageing has not quite been graceful, with constant injuries keeping him out of the side (although, he did remain fit enough to deliver an incredible 2023 World Cup campaign).
He looked far from his best even in the 2025 IPL season, and almost bowled the most expensive spell in the competition's history. If not for physical issues, Shami would likely have played on for a bit longer, and helped see India's transition through. As it stands, his 229-Test wicket career is still extremely fulfilling.
Umesh Yadav
Like Shami, Umesh's last Test was also the WTC final – and like Shami, he's also ageing out. In his pomp, Umesh could be relied upon as a genuine workhorse; capable of bowling extended spells as well as frequent ones, at high pace. He became something of an Asia specialist – averaging 27 with the ball in the subcontinent, compared to 41 in SENA countries.
In a way, both his and Shami's lack of match time over the previous WTC cycle accelerated India's transition. Without it, trialling the likes of Mukesh, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna may only have been starting now.
The lack of an India cap hasn't stopped Umesh from remaining active in domestic cricket, though. Soon after that WTC final, he had a county stint with Essex, and two weeks shy of his 37th birthday, turned out for Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy last October.
Mukesh Kumar
Mukesh debuted in the West Indies in 2023, soon after India lost the 2023 World Test Championship final. That series also saw the debut of Yashasvi Jaiswal, but Mukesh's career did not take off in the same way. He did well enough on debut, with 2-48 & 0-5 in a supporting role.
In his next series, India's tour of South Africa that December, Mukesh only sent down 12.2 overs, and took four wickets. He played once in the England home series that followed, taking 0-44 and 1-26.
Since then, he has been part of India's A squad for the tours to Australia and England, but has yet to play for the main team again. At 31 years old, it appears unlikely that he will return. A first-class record of 210 wickets at 21.6 suggests more than solid ability, but it hasn't quite translated to Test level.
Jaydev Unadkat
The same West Indies tour marked left-armer Jaydev Unadkat's second series since his return to India's Test team after a gap of 12 years. In two matches, he bowled 28 wicketless overs and hasn't even made the A team since then.
At 33, Unadkat is older than Mukesh, meaning time is even less on his side. Even in the Ranji Trophy season just gone, his returns dipped below his usual sky-high standards at that level, with 22 wickets in eight matches, at 27.9.
Unadkat is no doubt a giant of the domestic game, with 447 first-class wickets to show for his toil, but India's preferred left-arm options now appear to be Arshdeep Singh and Khaleel Ahmed – with the main squad and A squad respectively in England.
Navdeep Saini
Navdeep Saini has a grand total of two Tests to his name, both coming in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was the non-striker when Rishabh Pant hit the winning runs of that series, but hasn't stepped on the field for India in Test cricket since.
Watch: Shubman Gill loses off-stump leaving by Navdeep Saini in-ducker in Duleep Trophy
Injuries have plagued Saini throughout his career, to the extent that he has been limited to just 74 first-class matches in over 11 years. India had him in the scheme of things recently though, taking him on the A tour of Australia. He managed just four matches for Delhi this Ranji Trophy season, and his nine wickets were little to write home about.
Sadly, Saini's Test career looks quite likely to remain a 'what if'.
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