India strongest playing XI for the England Tests ft. Nitish Kumar Reddy & Sai Sudharsan

The BCCI recently announced India's squad for the upcoming Test series against England. Following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the two-time World Test Championship finalists will have a relatively new-look side.

Shubman Gill will lead India, with Rishabh Pant serving as his deputy. With concerns over whether Jasprit Bumrah can play in all five Tests, the selectors have tried to move towards the future. There are a couple of uncapped players in the mix as well.

India's squad for the Test series vs England: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk/vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

On that note, here is India A's strongest playing XI for the Test series against England.

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Openers: KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal

BORDER GAVASKAR TROPHY TEST: JAN 04 fifth NRMA Insurance Test - Source: Getty

Following Rohit's retirement, KL Rahul is expected to move up to the top of the order. A player who has done well as an opener in England before, he will be key to India's chances. Yashasvi Jaiswal, meanwhile, has established himself as one of the team's best batters in the red-ball format.

Abhimanyu Easwaran will serve as the backup opener.

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Middle Order: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy

BORDER GAVASKAR TROPHY TEST: JAN 03 fifth NRMA Insurance Test - Source: Getty

Sai Sudharsan has shown his obvious class across formats and conditions, and playing him at No. 3 makes a lot of sense in the long run. He has the technique and temperament to succeed in that role.

Shubman Gill moving to either No. 4 or No. 5 has been a long time coming, and we could finally see it happen in England. Ravindra Jadeja is another batter with a sound technique who can take to a role slightly higher in the order.

Nitish Kumar Reddy impressed with the bat Down Under, and his presence as the fourth seamer could give India the combination of batting depth and bowling options they desire. There is the option of fielding a fourth specialist quick instead of Reddy, but that would end India's batting at No. 6, which isn't a risk they can take.

Rishabh Pant, of course, will don the gloves and be arguably India's most important batter.

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Lower Order: Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh

India & South Africa Net Sessions - ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 - Source: Getty

Kuldeep Yadav has quietly been one of the best Test spinners in the world in recent times. With England expected to dish out flat tracks and adopt a high-risk batting approach, his guile and wicket-taking ability make Kuldeep impossible to leave out.

Mohammed Siraj's Test form hasn't been too promising in recent times, so India might want to head in a different direction. Arshdeep Singh could be handed his red-ball debut, while Prasidh Krishna's stellar recent form and penetrativeness should give him an edge over the likes of Akash Deep and Shardul Thakur.