India Test squad for England tour: Shubman Gill new captain; Karun Nair returns; Sai Sudharsan, Arshdeep in, no Shami

India Test Squad Live Updates: Thanks for tuning in to our coverage of India's squad announcement for the series against England.

Ajit Agarkar confirms an 18-member squad, with Shubman Gill leading the side and Rishabh Pant acting as his deputy. 

That's all from our end! We will have you covered later in the day for the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Jaipur. 

India Test Squad Live Updates: That's it from the press conference! Ajit Agarkar and Shiv Sunder Das are done with briefing the idea. After taking questions for almost half-an-hour, the BCCI Media Manager puts an end to the proceedings. 

Agarkar and Shiv Sunder Das make their way out of the press conference room. 

India Test Squad Live Updates: Ajit Agarkar says Sai Sudharsan has not been picked in the Test squad due to his performances for Gujarat Titans in the IPL. “He certainly deserves it,” says Agarkar as he lauds the left-handed batter's performances in red-ball cricket. 

India Test Squad Live Updates: Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar says “It's a massive transition” as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have decided to step away. He also reckons the series against England will be a big challenge and Gill will get enough chances to prove himself. 

India Test Squad Live Updates: Ajit Agarkar echoes Gautam Gambhir's comment as he says, “Retirement is a personal call.” Talking about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's retirement, Agarkar said, “They were big players for us in Test cricket. The shoes are very big to fill.”

India Test Squad Live Updates: Jasprit Bumrah won't be playing all five Tests, confirms Ajit Agarkar. The chairman of selectors says only time will tell whether Bumrah will play four or three Tests. He also states that the physios and the entire management will manage Bumrah's workload carefully. 

India Test Squad Live Updates: Ajit Agarkar sheds light on Virat Kohli's Test retirement, saying the former India captain reached out to him in April about wanting to hang up his boots in the longest format. He reveals that he respected Kohli's decision as he wanted to step away from Tests. 

India Test Squad Live Updates: Ajit Agarkar confirms Mohammed Shami was declared unfit by the medical team. He said that the selection committee wanted to include him in the squad but after getting the feedback from the medical department, they opted to not pick him.  

India Test Squad Live Updates: Ajit Agarkar has confirmed the full squad for the series against England. Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan have earned call-ups. Dhruv Jurel will be the second wicketkeeper in the squad

Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wk and VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav

India Test Squad Live Updates: It's official! It's confirmed! Shubman Gill is going to be the next Test captain for India. The 25-year-old will lead the team in the upcoming five-match series against England, beginning June 20 in Leeds.

Rishabh Pant will serve as the vice-captain. 

Ajit Agarkar and Shiv Sunder Das are now announcing the 16-member squad for the series against Ben Stokes and co. 

India Test Squad Live Updates: While all the chatter is about who the next Test captain will be, it needs to be seen who is made the vice-captain. The post of being the deputy to the captain is an important position. It remains to be seen whether Rishabh Pant gets a role in the leadership group or not. 

India Test Squad Live Updates: The selection meeting is over! The squad is going to be announced anytime soon. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has left the BCCI headquarters after overseeing the proceedings. 

India Test Squad Live Updates: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar reckons Jasprit Bumrah should be the next Test captain as he is the best candidate to take Indian cricket forward. Gavaskar's sentiment is echoed by Saba Karim, Aaron Finch and Abhinav Mukund.

But will selectors take this call of going ahead with Bumrah? 

India Test Squad Live Updates: Ajit Agarkar is all set to announce the name of the new Test captain at 1:30 PM IST. The selection committee is all set to pick a 16-member squad for the five-match series beginning June 20.

Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Sai Sudharsan are expected to be named in the squad. Stay tuned for all key updates. 

India vs. England Squad Live: The selection meeting is underway, and the squad is expected to be announced shortly. Devajit Saikia, the secretary of the BCCI, is the convenor of the meeting and is overseeing proceedings at the headquarters of the BCCI. 

India vs England Squad Live: Former selector Kiran More says that he has his doubts over whether Rishabh Pant is going to the UK or not. He talked about the India A squad and how Ishan Kishan and Dhruv Jurel are going for the shadow tour.

“I don't know whether they are taking Rishabh Pant or not. Just see the India A squad, Dhruv Jurel and Ishan Kishan are both there,” said More while speaking on JioHotstar. 

India vs England Squad Live: Kiran More didn't mince his words as he clearly stated that he is not expecting miracles from this young side. He also said that India would take two years to make a good Test team; hence, youngsters need to be persisted with and be given constant chances.

“You are going to need 3-4 openers on this tour because you are playing in England. I don't expect any miracles on this tour because I think India are going to struggle. I think India will take two years to make a good Test team,” said More on JioHotstar. 

India vs England Squad Live: Former national selector Kiran More questioned Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir, saying the duo should have prepared for a transition phase. He said that the team has been given a wake-up call, and the road is a bit tricky ahead.

Speaking on JioHotstar, More said, “They have suddenly woken up. Now they are saying who will be the next captain. They should have prepared. We didn't prepare for the past 1.5 years, and now this is a big wake-up call for us. You never thought about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's retirement.”

India vs England Squad Live: With Virat Kohli retiring from Tests, one question remains - who will bat at No.4? Will it be Shubman Gill? Will it be Sarfaraz Khan? Will it be Karun Nair? Or will it be KL Rahul?

A lot of questions need to be answered, and we await Ajit Agarkar to come down to the press conference room and address the media's queries. We are just one hour away from the squad reveal. 

India vs England Squad Live: The Hindustan Times had previously reported that Shubman Gill is the front-runner to become the next Test captain. 

The selection committee is impressed with Shubman Gill's captaincy in the IPL and he has been earmarked to lead the transition phase. Just like Graeme Smith was given the South Africa captaincy in 2003, India are doing the same with Shubman Gill. 

India vs England Squad Live: Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar has arrived at the BCCI headquarters. The selection meeting is expected to begin in the next 10-15 minutes. A new captain will be announced very very soon.

A big day in Indian cricket is upon us. Alongside Ajit Agarkar, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia also arrives at the BCCI headquarters. 

India vs England Squad Live: The selection meeting is set to begin shortly. Ajit Agarkar has made his way to the BCCI headquarters. We are all set to get a new Test captain! 

The selection committee is likely to pick a 17-member squad for the five Tests against England. The upcoming series will mark the start of a new WTC cycle. Shubman Gill is the frontrunner to be named the new captain while Rishabh Pant is expected to serve as his deputy. 

India vs England Squad Live: Former selector Kiran More believes it should be KL Rahul who should be made the captain, and not Shubman Gill. While speaking on JioHotstar, More said he doesn't want to put pressure on Gill and hence he would want to give the captaincy to KL Rahul. 

“I would go with KL Rahul—he’s an experienced campaigner. I don’t want to put too much pressure on Shubman Gill. He hasn’t done enough in Test cricket yet. He hasn’t played much domestic cricket either, so there’s a lot of learning still to do in the longer format. Let him grow—maybe he can be vice-captain for a year or two. For now, KL Rahul is the right choice. He has the experience, temperament, and communication skills needed to lead," More said. 

India vs England Squad Live: With both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring in Tests, there is a big vacuum in the squad and it remains to be seen whether the youngsters are able to make the most of their chances and fill in the big shoes.

The last time India played without both Virat and Rohit in a Test was in 2022 in a Test against South Africa in Johannesburg. Kohli had missed the match because of a back spasm while Rohit Sharma missed the entire series due to a hamstring injury. 

India vs England Squad Live: Nitish Kumar Reddy was played in the starting XI in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, however, he bowled far and between. In England, a fast-bowling all-rounder is the need of hour. Hence, there is a strong case for Shardul Thakur to be included in the squad.

Shardul set the stage on fire with his performances for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy. He has also done well with the ball for Lucknow Super Giants after coming in as a replacement player.