England and India are set for an enthralling summer of Test cricket, with the first of five matches getting underway at Headingley on Friday, June 20.
The series, being contested for the newly-named Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, is the first for both sides in a fresh World Test Championship cycle after South Africa defeated Australia in an absorbing final at Lord’s just a few days ago.
For England, this is the first of two major series in 2025 and Ben Stokes may well have one eye on the Ashes as he looks to cement the top order, whilst also hoping his stock of pace bowlers, himself included, make it through a demanding schedule both in form and unscathed.
As for the tourists, they are entering a new era under Shubman Gill – without key players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravi Ashwin and Mohammed Shami – hoping to end a poor run of Test form which saw them miss out on the showpiece final for the first time.
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England’s number three dilemma
The big decision facing the selectors ahead of the first Test will be whether to stick with vice-captain Ollie Pope or re-introduce 21-year-old star Jacob Bethell waiting in the wings.
Pope has struggled to produce consistent form at Test level and his frenetic starts to an innings has been widely voiced as an area of concern against a high-level bowling attack, though his recent 171 off 166 balls in the win over Zimbabwe has likely given him the nod to at least start the series, even if Bethell’s inclusion is an inevitable one.
His record at number three does make for good reading, averaging 43.04 with four Test hundreds since the beginning of last year, though it is his ability to produce such numbers against the best sides in Australia and India which is less convincing.
Whilst Pope was featuring in England’s first Test of the summer, Bethell was allowed to remain at the IPL with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, before returning for the white-ball series against West Indies where he made a 53-ball 82 in the first ODI and also produced three eye-catching cameos during the T20 leg.
The Warwickshire batter looked immediately at home on Test debut in New Zealand over the winter at number three with Pope pushed down the order, demonstrating both a defensively sound technique and a range of attacking shots in scoring three half-centuries during the 2-1 win.
In Pope’s favour, he is a highly regarded member of the leadership group and memories of his stunning 196 at Hyderabad in 2024 will be a reminder of his capability, whereas Bethell does not yet have a three-figure score to his name.
It would not be a major surprise to see England shake things up again by opting to include Bethell at the top of the order, a position he has never undertaken in professional red-ball cricket but was as good as doing in New Zealand as a result of Zak Crawley’s persistent struggles against Matt Henry.
A stellar 2023 aside, Crawley’s performances for England have been firmly under the microscope but those in charge have continued to show faith in the 27-year-old.
His 124 against Zimbabwe and form in the T20 Blast would make it unlikely to see that change come to fruition though, having now formed a settled partnership with Ben Duckett that embodies England’s aggressive nature.
Underappreciated Woakes returns to play key role
The return of 36-year-old Chris Woakes from ankle injury will be a huge boost to England’s transitioning pace attack.
Often competing for a spot alongside James Anderson and Stuart Broad, Woakes is now the senior new ball bowler and is closing in on 200 Test wickets.
After taking six scalps on his comeback for Warwickshire in the County Championship, he also took five wickets in the England Lions match against India A at Northampton.
An average of 21.59 at home in contrast to 48.93 away will leave question marks over his role in Australia this winter amid a lust for high pace – but his accuracy and ability to swing the new ball will be a major asset against an inexperienced Indian batting lineup in unfamiliar English conditions.
Woakes was the catalyst for England’s fightback during the 2023 Ashes, awarded player-of-the-series despite only featuring from the third Test onwards, before playing nine Tests in 2024 which was his second most in a calendar year, overall winning 10 of the 12 Tests he has played in the Bazball era.
Essex‘s Sam Cook only managed to take 1-119 across his Test debut against Zimbabwe last month as his main competition but it is Woakes’ ability with the bat which also sets him apart, currently 30 runs shy of the 2,000 mark in Test cricket which means he is set to become just the sixth English all-rounder to do the 2,000-200 double.
Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue are expected to form the pace attack for the first Test, as well as the captain, with Cook and the recalled Jamie Overton likely to miss out.
Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood are sidelined but there is hope Jofra Archer could play his first Test since 2021 at some stage during the series.
All eyes on new captain Gill
The Indian Test team is embarking on a new chapter under the leadership of 25-year-old batter Shubman Gill, who faces a stiff first assignment on a tour where they have not had a series victory since 2007.
Gill is the fifth-youngest player to lead his country in the Test format and only has 32 appearances to his name, with his appointment ahead of previous vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah raising some doubt.
The stylish batter has limited leadership experience in First-Class cricket but has led the Gujarat Titans in the IPL for the past two seasons.
Nicknamed the ‘Prince’ of Indian cricket, regarded as the next big thing to follow in the footsteps of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Gill has a staggering 59.04 average in ODI cricket compared to a less-than-stellar record of 35.05 in the Test arena.
He was also left out of the side for the Boxing Day Test in Australia during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Having only played three Tests in England, two of which being in the World Test Championship final, Gill has a big task not only to lead from the front with the bat but also to deal with the extra pressures that come with captaincy, whilst rejuvenating a transitioning side after consecutive series defeats to Australia and New Zealand.
Life without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
The two stalwarts of Indian cricket both called time on their Test careers with immediate effect within a matter of days of each other last month, with Kohli’s coming as a particular surprise given his appetite to taste success in England.
With the small matter of 190 Tests, 13,531 runs and 42 centuries between them, that leaves a sizeable hole that even India’s ridiculous pipeline of talent will find difficult to fill.
The flexible KL Rahul will return to open as the most experienced batter alongside their brightest prospect in Yashasvi Jaiswal, who England will remember scored back-to-back double centuries against them during the 2024 series in India.
With Gill expected to fill the void left by Kohli at number four, there is a decision to be made at number three between Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair.
Left-hander Sudharsan has been a star performer in the IPL for Gujarat Titans in recent years, ending the 2025 edition as the competition’s leading run-scorer, though is yet to play Test cricket and has only made four international white-ball appearances.
33-year-old Nair has been rewarded for his prolific form in domestic cricket and could play his first Test match since 2017, having also made an impression during the latter stages of the IPL and scoring 204 against England Lions at Canterbury in the first of two warm-up games.
There is a good chance they could both feature at three and five respectively to strengthen the batting depth, with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant at six and Ravindra Jadeja at seven as the frontline spin option.
The emergence of Nitish Kumar Reddy in Australia provides a useful all-rounder option alongside Shardul Thakur, whilst Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh will all by vying for a place in support of key bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who their remains concerns around his fitness for the duration of the series.
By Dom Harris
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