Ajinkya Rahane includes two uncapped players in his predicted India playing XI for ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Veteran Mumbai batter Ajinkya Rahane has named two uncapped players in his predicted playing XI for India’s opening match of the five-Test series against England. The highly anticipated series will get underway on Friday, June 20, with Headingley in Leeds hosting the first Test.

A day before the series opener, on Thursday, June 19, the 37-year-old shared a video on his YouTube channel (@ajinkyarahane88). In it, he backed Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul to open the innings. For the No. 3 spot, he opted for uncapped Sai Sudharsan.

Interestingly, he also included Dhruv Jurel in the middle order alongside Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, leaving no room for Karun Nair. Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur were his picks for the No. 7 and No. 8 positions, respectively.

Completing his XI, Rahane named three frontline seamers — Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and uncapped Arshdeep Singh — to provide a different angle and variation in the attack.

Rahane’s predicted XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh.

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“It’s going to be a challenging task for him” - Ajinkya Rahane weighs in on Shubman Gill’s captaincy before England Tests

Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket in May 2025, prompting India to find a new captain ahead of the 2025 England series. While unveiling the squad later that month, the BCCI named Shubman Gill as the Test skipper with Rishabh Pant as his deputy.

In the aforementioned video, Ajinkya Rahane remarked that it would be a challenging task for Shubman, saying:

“I think it’s going to be a challenging task for Shubman because in Test cricket I always believe you have to be proactive as a captain. I’m sure Shubman will do well, but it will take time because captaining in T20s and ODIs is completely different."

"In the Test format, sometimes you have to stay one or two steps ahead of your opponents, talk to your bowlers, and plan things with them. So, it’s going to be a challenging task for him, but I’m sure he will do well as both a skipper and a batter," he added.

Since making his debut in 2020, Shubman Gill has played 32 Tests for India. He has scoredn 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05, including seven half-centuries and five centuries.