The BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced India’s squad for the upcoming Test series against England on Saturday. Expected selections included Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, and Arshdeep Singh, while senior pacer Mohammed Shami was left out due to fitness issues. Surprisingly, Sarfaraz Khan and Shreyas Iyer were not selected. Despite Iyer’s strong recent performances in both limited overs cricket and IPL 2025, and his prior Test experience, he did not make the cut.
No Room for In-Form Shreyas Iyer
Agarkar clarified that Iyer was left out due to the current team composition. “Shreyas had a good one-day series, played well in domestic as well but right now there’s no room in Test cricket,” he told IANS.
Karun Nair, who last played a Test match seven years ago, earned a recall due to consistent domestic form. Agarkar expressed confidence in Nair’s ability to perform in England and explained the decision to choose him over Sarfaraz Khan. “Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test and then didn’t get runs. Sometimes it’s decisions the team management takes.”
He further explained the rationale, highlighting Nair’s experience. “At the moment, Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic, has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat not there, clearly we’re lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help.”
Arshdeep Singh Earns Maiden Test Call-Up
Arshdeep Singh, who has never played a Test before, was given a maiden call-up due to Shami’s unavailability. Both Arshdeep and Nair have played county cricket recently Arshdeep with Kent and Nair with Northamptonshire. “He’s a quality bowler and has had a taste of county as well. he plays domestic when he can. A tall guy, can bowl with the new ball, has body of work in red-ball cricket and in recent form in the last couple of years. Bumrah unlikely to play all five Tests, we needed a bit of variety.”
The squad also includes seam-bowling all-rounders Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Agarkar voiced faith in the pair’s potential. “Shardul a bowling allrounder, sometimes you need a player like that depending on team balance. he’s going on the A tour as well. Nitish is a batting allrounder at this point, hopefully his bowling will come along as well.”
