Irfan Pathan picks India’s playing XI for first Test vs England; Sai Sudharsan omitted

As Team India, led by Shubman Gill, is scheduled to play against England in the first Test of the five-match series, starting on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds, the former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has picked his choice of playing XI.

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Moving into the details, Irfan went ahead with the left-right opening combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. Moving further, he went ahead with Karun Nair ahead of Sai Sudharsan as Nair had an exceptional red-ball form in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season for Vidarbha.

“There have been a lot of talks on the No.3 spot between Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan. According to me, Karun Nair should play, thanks to his good first-class form. While Sai has good form currently, but it's in white-ball. Karun Nair has performed consistently in the red-ball format of late; he should play at No. 3,” Irfan said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, he has slotted Shubman Gill, the skipper, at No.4 with Rishabh Pant occupying the No.5 spot. Later, Ravindra Jadeja takes up the No.6 role with Nitish Kumar Reddy taking up the No. 7 spot.

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“At No.7, it should be Nitish Kumar Reddy. We shouldn't forget his century against Australia. There might be form concerns now. In the future, he can be used as the fourth fast bowler in the playing XI,” Pathan said on including Nitish in his XI.

Moving forward, Irfan has slotted Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna as the pace bowling options. Notably, Thakur would be the eighth batting option available, adding depth to the batting order. 

Irfan Pathan's India playing XI for first Test vs England: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

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Watch the full video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d93shRa4GvQ

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