3 major positives for India from the Test series against England ft. Washington Sundar's all-round show

Team India commenced the 2025-27 World Test Championship in spirited fashion as they drew 2-2 in the five-match Test series against England. The newly christened Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ended all square thanks to the visitors' six-run comeback win in the fifth Test at The Oval.

It was an encouraging rubber for Shubman Gill and Co., who played a good brand of cricket throughout. They were very much in the running to clinch the series outright and displayed great fight when their backs were up against the wall. There are a number of promising signs for the young side to take heart from while going forward.

On that note, here are three major positives for India from the Test series against England.

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#3 India's batters eased into the post Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli transition

England v India - 4th Rothesay Test Match: Day Four - Source: Getty

In the first series since Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's Test retirement, India's young batters stood up to the task.

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored more than 400 runs in his maiden Test tour of England, while KL Rahul had one of the best runs of form in his career. Sai Sudharsan made his debut and showed great poise, while Shubman Gill had one of the most prolific series in Test history.

The performances of the aforementioned names, apart from ones like Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, ensured that the transition to the post-Rohit-Kohli era went extremely smoothly. In fact, the two senior batters weren't discussed at any point during the rubber, and their absence wasn't felt in the slightest.

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#2 Washington Sundar impressed with both bat and ball in challenging conditions

England v India - 5th Rothesay Test Match: Day Four - Source: Getty

Gautam Gambhir has made Washington Sundar a central part of his plans across formats, and so far, the young all-rounder hasn't put a foot wrong. The Tamil Nadu man was excellent with both bat and ball in England, justifying the think tank's faith in him.

Sundar showed great technique and application, making his maiden Test century to save a Test and smashing a blazing half-century in the final encounter to give India a total to defend. He was also threatening whenever used with the ball, generating appreciable drift and turning a couple of innings on their hand almost single-handedly.

Sundar's ability to bat in the top six and contribute with the ball will likely make him a massive asset to the side, both home and away.

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#1 Shubman Gill's first Test series as captain went swimmingly in both departments

England v India - 5th Rothesay Test Match: Day Five - Source: Getty

As mentioned earlier, Rohit and Kohli's absence was barely felt. One of the main reasons behind that was Shubman Gill's splendid performances in the two departments covered by the senior duo - batting and captaincy.

Gill slotted in at No. 4 and played a number of special knocks, with his technical tweaks enabling him to make a mountain of runs. He was also sharp with his captaincy, adapting to challenging situations quickly and managing to stay ahead of the game.

Gill's failures in London proved that he isn't a finished product yet, but the 25-year-old is certainly heading in the right direction. And his presence - as both batter and captain - is one of India's biggest positives as they move forward in the World Test Championship.