"If they believe, they can achieve something special" - Former RCB star’s big statement on Shubman Gill-led squad for ENG vs IND 2025 Test series

Former South African captain and ex-Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter AB de Villiers believes that India's young Test squad led by Shubman Gill have the talent to achieve something special in England if they have the belief. He urged the younger players in the team to step up following the retirement of some seniors.

India will be without the services of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who announced their retirement from Test cricket earlier this month. Before that veteran off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also announced his retirement from international midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year. The visitors will be without senior pacer Mohammad Shami as well as he is not yet fit for a Test comeback.

India will be led by Gill in England, while keeper-batter Rishabh Pant would be his deputy. Speaking at the sidelines of an event in Mumbai on Saturday, May 31, De Villiers shared his thoughts on the chances of India's young team in England during the upcoming five-match series. He opined (as quoted by PTI):

"They've (youngsters) got to take some responsibility on in England; it'll be a tough test, but they have all the talent in the world and, if they believe, maybe they can achieve something special."

"Yes, it's time for the younger guys to step up... Shubman Gill taking on the responsibility. There's lots of talent in India and largely credit to the IPL for that, (it is) really giving great exposure to some of the youngsters at a very early age," the 41-year-old went on to add.

De Villiers also admitted that the IPL has played a huge role in getting the Indian youngsters ready for international cricket and elaborated:

"We saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi this year (and) many other youngsters; they come in their first year and they look very mature and ready to play cricket and it's a great platform for Indian cricket."

India will play five Tests in England from June 20 to August 4. The first Test will be played at Headingley in Leeds, while the series will conclude with a match at the Kennington Oval in London. Before the start of the Test series, the visitors will also feature in a four-day warm-up match at Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham from June 13 to June 16.

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India's Test squad for England tour 2025

Team India selectors have picked an 18-member squad for the five-match Test series in England. Apart from Gill and Pant, the team includes regulars like Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj. Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran have also been included, while Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur make a comeback to the Test squad.

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