A new era in Indian Test cricket will begin on Friday, June 20, as Shubman Gill leads India against Ben Stokes’s England in the first of five Test matches, set to be held at Headingley in Leeds. With legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma having retired from Test cricket, this series marks a generational shift and a fresh start for the Men in Blue.
The high-stakes England tour also kicks off India’s campaign in the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. India have reached the finals in both the previous cycles (2019–21 and 2021–23) but ended up as runners-up on both occasions. A strong showing in England could provide momentum in their quest for a maiden WTC title.
England, led by Ben Stokes, have named a strong playing XI for the series opener. Warwickshire all-rounder Chris Woakes makes his return, while Jamie Smith has been given the nod behind the stumps. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will open, with Ollie Pope at No. 3, followed by Joe Root, forming a solid top order. Harry Brook, Stokes, and Smith complete the middle order.
The first Test between England and India will take place from June 20 to 24 at Headingley, Leeds. The match begins at 3:30 PM IST, while the toss is scheduled for 3:00 PM IST.
The ENG vs IND 1st Test will be streamed live on the JioHotstar app and website. For TV viewers, the match will be telecast live on the Sony Sports Network.
According to the BBC forecast, Leeds will enjoy bright and sunny weather for the first three days, with temperatures peaking at 29°C. A drop to 23°C is expected on Days 4 and 5, with light rain also in the mix, which may influence the latter half of the match.
Headingley is renowned as one of the top Test venues globally. The surface generally favours batters in the early stages, but as the match progresses, spinners come into play. If weather conditions are overcast, pacers could extract sharp movement, making it a balanced track.
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.
Ben Stokes (c), Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
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