For the first Test match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds, former cricket player Sanjay Manjrekar has revealed his starting lineup.
The seasoned pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul should be given the task of opening the batting by the recently chosen captain Shubman Gill, according to Manjrekar. A young player named B Sai Sudharsan should then make his Test debut and bat at number three.
Rishabh Pant, a batsman and wicketkeeper, will bat at No. 5 after Gill, who is expected to drop in the batting order, as he has stated. In addition, the team’s most seasoned player and top all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, ought to be used as a specialist spinner in the event that India decides against selecting Kuldeep Yadav. Manjrekar has offered the fast bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy as a replacement for Kuldeep. Lastly, he has selected Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah as the game’s three core pacers.
The in-form all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who many experts have been recommending as a hot selection for the forthcoming encounter, has been overlooked by Manjrekar, a former Mumbai and India batter. The cricketer-turned-commentator feels that the Indian squad is capable of winning even without him, therefore the Thane-born player has been unable to secure a berth in his playing XI. Manjrekar revealed the playing XI on his official X Twitter.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav/Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah are Manjrekar’s starting lineup for the first Test match against England.
My playing XI first Test –
Rahul
Jaiswal
Sudarshan
Gill
Pant
Nair
Jadeja
Reddy/Kuldeep
Siraj
Prasidh
Bumrah— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) June 20, 2025
Woakes returns to England for the Headingley match.
Speaking of the game, the eagerly awaited match is scheduled to begin at Headingley, a historic location. Ben Stokes wrote one of the greatest run-chases in Test cricket history at this same location when he hit the historic century in the fourth innings against Australia during the 2019 Ashes. The star all-rounder, who is currently captain of England, will be hoping for a similar outcome at the stadium this time around.
In the meantime, the hosts have already announced their starting lineup for the match. Chris Woakes will be the most seasoned player to take the field after Joe Root and the English captain for the Ben Stokes-led team, which is entering with a rather inexperienced group.
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue, and Shoaib Bashir are the members of England’s first-team squad for the first test.
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