Sanjay Bangar picks his Indian XI for ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test, no place for Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur
Former India player Sanjay Bangar has picked his Indian XI for the first Test against England. Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur are among the prominent names who failed to figure in his chosen side.
India will lock horns with England in a five-match Test series, with the first game starting in Leeds on June 20. Jadeja and Thakur are two of the bowling all-rounders in the visitors' 18-member squad.
During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan,' Bangar chose his preferred Indian XI for the first Test against England.
"My team is Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran at No. 3, Shubman Gill at No. 4, Rishabh Pant at No. 5, Karun Nair at No. 6, Nitish Kumar Reddy at No. 7, Kuldeep Yadav at No. 8, and then three seamers - Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah," he said.
The former India all-rounder noted that he would play Nitish Kumar Reddy ahead of Thakur.
"I see Nitish as a batter who can bowl. I can't see him as a bowler who can bat. However, Nitish starts in my team ahead of Shardul. Shardul doesn't play in my first XI. Nitish Reddy will play first," Bangar observed.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has scored 298 runs at an average of 37.25 and picked up five wickets at an average of 38.00 in five Tests. Shardul Thakur has aggregated 331 runs at an average of 19.47 and accounted for 31 dismissals at an average of 28.38 in 11 Tests.
"Whenever the Indian team wants to play one spinner on this tour, I feel it should be Kuldeep Yadav" - Sanjay Bangar
![Kuldeep Yadav has picked up 56 wickets at an average of 22.16 in 13 Tests. [P/C: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/06/de41d-17497101663948-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Sanjay Bangar opined that India should play Kuldeep Yadav ahead of Ravindra Jadeja whenever they field only one frontline spinner in the Test series against England.
"It will be a condition-based call on whether you would play one spinner or two spinners. Whenever the Indian team wants to play one spinner on this tour, I feel it should be Kuldeep Yadav because there is a huge question about the fitness of your trump card, Jasprit Bumrah," he reasoned.
The former India batting coach added that a lack of potency in bowling contributed to the visitors' loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
"That's why I would want the Indian team to strengthen their bowling. Yes, the top order didn't score runs in Australia, but another huge reason for India's defeat was the lack of penetration in bowling. So you will have to go with solid bowling as well," Bangar observed.
To conclude, Sanjay Bangar opined that none of the Tests between India and England will likely end in a draw. He predicted a 3-2 win for Shubman Gill and company in the five-match series.