The announcement of the India cricket team’s squad for the England Test series has been delayed. That’s happened because of two reasons. The first, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announcing their retirements. The second is the resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Who’ll be India’s new Test captain? Who’ll bat at number 4 in England if Kohli retires? Will KL Rahul take Rohit’s opening spot? These are the questions being asked. What most are forgetting is that it’s bowlers who win you a Test series. If Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t present in Australia, India might have lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 0-4. It was him or nothing when it came to taking wickets.
Pacers in contention for India’s Test squad for England
That’s why to finally win a Test series in England after 18 years, you need a solid pace bowling unit. Unlike the past, in the Bazball era, the pitches can be quite varied. So you might see green tops, dry pitches and some which are neither here nor there. This means you might need to assemble a pace attack which isn’t one-dimensional.
Swing: Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed, Arshdeep Singh, Anshul KambojSeam: Mohammed Shami, Akash DeepHit the deck: Prasidh Krishna, Harshit RanaEverything: Jasprit Bumrah
Swing Kings
Swing seems ever present in England; that’s why you need guys like Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed, Arshdeep Singh, and Anshul Kamboj. Two right-arm and two left-arm fast bowlers. It may happen that two are picked, one of each, but they will be needed. Especially a left-armer to combat the likes of Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith.
Siraj should make the team, considering he averages 26.20 with the new ball (0-20 overs) in England. Only Bumrah has a better record among current bowlers. Khaleel and Kamboj have also been selected for India A, so they have a chance to show what they can do. Arshdeep isn’t going for the India A tour, but he has an edge over Khaleel and Kamboj as he has played county cricket.
Control & movement
Mohammed Shami doesn’t have a great record in England, but he’s got experience and impeccable control. His ability to move the ball off the pitch at pace makes him one of the best. Reps and fitness will be an issue, though. If not him, Akash Deep can be a great like-for-like replacement. Akash is part of the India A squad as well, and we can gauge his performance in England after an impressive display in Australia.
Speed & natural wicket-takers
As mentioned above, in the Bazball era, pitches can be flatter and good to bat on. There you need bowlers, who can manufacture wickets. Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana fall into this category. Prasidh has been on fire in IPL 2025 and impressed in Sydney with his pace, bounce and control. Harshit is still raw and inexperienced. But the management likes him. He too is going to play against the England Lions.
Jasprit Bumrah, jack of all trades
All of the pacers mentioned above are great at one thing or another. But then there is Bumrah, who can do it all. He’s the only fast bowler to average under 20 with at least 200 wickets in Test cricket. He’ll be the leader of the pack. The centre of it all. India needs him to remain fit and then others to play supporting roles and let him work his magic.
By Bumrah’s standards, England hasn’t been his best hunting ground. Yet he averages 26.27 and has two 5-wicket hauls. If fit, it won’t matter if the pitches swing, seam or are flat. He has wood over England’s best batter, Joe Root. And has already shown the Lions what he can do on dry pitches in India in 2024. Who can forget his seething yorker to Ollie Pope?
Bumrah, Shami, Siraj & who? Pacers in contention to make India’s Test squad for England Inside Sport India.
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