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Shastri backs fresh faces as India usher in new era of Test cricket
The Statesman Bhubaneswar
|June 18, 2025
With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retiring from Test cricket, India enters a new era under the leadership of the 25-year-old Shubman Gill as he leads an 18-member Indian squad into a challenging first assignment, a five-match away series against World No.2-ranked England, marking the start of a new World Test Championship cycle.
Weighing in on how India could shape up for the first Test against England at Leeds, starting June 20, former head coach Ravi Shastri backed a left-right combination at the top of the order, while throwing his weight behind KL Rahul's promotion to open the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Shastri, speaking on The ICC Review, also offered a detailed breakdown of his preferred XI for the first match.
"It would be (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, and with him will be KL Rahul, because I think this is a big tour for him. He's the most experienced of the batsmen," Shastri said, backing Rahul's previous experience on English soil.
"He opened last time when India toured England, got a hundred, (and) had a good tour. So I would hope for him to open the innings."
This story is from the June 18, 2025 edition of The Statesman Bhubaneswar.
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