New Test era begins: Shubman Gill-led India eye series victory in England after 18 years
Our skipper Shubman Gill is set to make his Test captaincy debut in the upcoming five-match series against England starting at Headingley in Leeds on June 20.
19 June, 2025
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The wait is over! Our skipper Shubman Gill is set to lead the Indian men’s cricket team in the upcoming five-match Test series against England starting at Headingley in Leeds on June 20.
India and England will compete in the highly-anticipated series for the rebranded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, formerly known as the Pataudi Trophy.
Under the tutelage of head coach Gautam Gambhir and newly-appointed Test captain Gill, India will aim to end their 18-year series drought in England. India last won a Test series on English soil in 2007.
Additionally, the forthcoming five-match Test series will be India’s first assignment of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.
All eyes will be on new skipper Gill, who will lead a new-look Indian Test side after the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin.
At 25 years and 258 days, Gill became India’s youngest Test captain in the 21st century.
Under his leadership, the Indian cricket team earlier clinched a five-match T20I series 4-1 in Zimbabwe in July 2024.
In red-ball cricket, he has previously led in five first-class matches, including once in the Ranji Trophy.
Furthermore, Gill has already showcased his leadership credentials after guiding the Titans to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 playoffs.
Speaking about Gill’s captaincy on The ICC Review, former India head coach Ravi Shastri said, “What I saw of him with Gujarat Titans in the IPL impressed me. He was composed, calm, and showed tactical maturity.”
Apart from Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna are the other four Titans included in India’s 19-man Test squad for the England series.
The likes of captain Gill, Sudharsan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, vice-captain Rishabh Pant and Karun Nair are some of the Indian batters, who could play pivotal roles in the upcoming Test series.
In the bowling department, the visitors will be heavily reliant on the fast bowling trio of Siraj, Prasidh and Jasprit Bumrah, along with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
On the other hand, the England cricket team will be led by all-rounder Ben Stokes, while Ollie Pope will be his deputy.
England's batting department will feature - Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Pope and Stokes.
Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir will be part of England’s bowling line-up for the first Test at Headingley.
India vs England head-to-head in Test cricket
India and England have faced each other in 136 Test matches since 1932. The Indian cricket team has emerged victorious in 35 Tests, while England have registered 51 wins. As many as 50 Test matches between India and England have ended in draws.
The last time these two sides met in the longest format, India secured a dominant 4-1 series victory in a five-match Test series at home in 2024.
Earlier in August 2021, India previously toured England for a five-match Test series. The hard-fought series ended 2-2 after the final Test was postponed to July 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, India have won nine Test matches on English soil, including registering three Test series victories in 1971 (1-0), 1986 (2-0) and 2007 (1-0).
India tour of England 2025 schedule and live match start times
England’s Test squad (for first Test match): Ben Stokes (captain), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wicket-keeper), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes
Where to watch India vs England Tests 2025 live
The India vs England Tests 2025 will be telecast live on Sony Sports 1, Sony Sports 5, Sony Sports 3 (Hindi), and Sony Sports 4 (Tamil and Telugu) TV channels.
Live streaming of the IND vs ENG Tests 2025 will be available on the JioHotstar app and website in India.
