The series will have matches at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).The team also sees comeback of old faces like Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur ready to make their mark on the English soil. However, recurring injury concerns ruled him out of contention for captaincy. Moreover, selector Ajit Agarkar has said that the pace spearhead won't be available for all five Tests against England.Mohammed Shami is not added to the squad due to fitness concerns. In Shami’s absence, the pace unit includes new faces like Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh alongside Bumrah.Middle-order options to fill the void left by Kohli include Karun Nair, and Sai Sudarshan. Sudarshan, 23, impressed in the Ranji Trophy with 304 runs from three matches at an average of 76, including a double-century, a ton, and a fifty.

Source: The Times May 25, 2025 00:39 UTC