Wasim Jaffer picks India’s squad for ENG vs IND 2025 tour; includes 4 comebacks 

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer named his preferred squad for the England tour, which kicks starts the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are bracing for a new era after both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli recently announced their red-ball retirements.

The selection committee are expected to name the official squad in the coming days, including the unveiling of the new Test captain. Although most of the playing XI selects itself, there are several questions surrounding the back-up options, who are bound to come into play over the course of the long tour.

Wasim Jaffer picked Jasprit Bumrah to lead the team in his squad, while Shubman Gill is his deputy. Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel remain the two preferred wicket-keepers in the set-up.

The former India batter named four players who were not a part of the previous red-ball tours in the form of Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Karun Nair, and Mohammed Shami. It is to be noted that Thakur and Nair have been named in the India A squad recently for the England tour.

Nitish Kumar Reddy comes across as a glaring miss in Jaffer's squad. The all-rounder had impressed in his debut series in Australia, largely with the bat, and was touted to hold the pace bowling all-rounder slot going forward. He has been named in the India A squad, and recently bowled a handful of overs for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Jaffer has included Abhimanyu Easwaran as the backup opener, and Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar as the backup spinners after Ravindra Jadeja. As far as the pace bowling unit is concerned, the formidable trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj finds a place. As far as the backup option is concerned, he feels one of Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, or Akash Deep will be picked.

Wasim Jaffer's squad for five-match Test series against England

KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair/Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Arshdeep Singh/Prasidh Krishna/Akash Deep, Washington Sundar

Team India's tour of England to begin on June 20

The Indian contingent, including head coach Gautam Gambhir, will leave for England once the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 concludes. The series opener is scheduled to be played at Headingley, Leeds, from June 20 onwards.

Team India last won a red-ball series on English soil under Rahul Dravid's captaincy in 2007. The side were able to secure a 2-2 draw in their last tour during 2021-22.