The upcoming five-match Test series against England will be an interesting one as it will mark new beginnings for Team India. Firstly, it will kick-start India’s campaign in the 2025-27 cycle of the World Test Championship and also will be the first series after the Test retirement of skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli. After the duo’s sudden departure, a lot of debate is going on about who should be India’s new captain in Test cricket and former India opener Aakash Chopra has come with an interesting view.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra predicted India’s Playing XI for the five-match Test series against England. He named Shubman Gill as the captain and included KL Rahul as the opener, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.

He also stated that either of Devdutt Padikkal or Sai Sudharsan will get a spot in the team. However, he snubbed the all-rounder Washington Sundar and in-form Karun Nair from the XI.

“I am going with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. No need to think about it much, they both did well in the BGT too. It’ll be Yashasvi’s first tour of England so I really hope he does well. KL’s last tour of England was good but you cannot start the tour well and finish poorly. I think it’ll be a very important tour for him. At number three, it could be either of Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal. Maybe Padikkal is ahead in the race because he was seen playing in the BGT and made his debut earlier,” said Chopra.

“Sudharsan could be an out-of-box option because he’s been in good form so you want him to play. That means the captain, Shubman Gill, will go at number four,” he added.

Surprisingly, Chopra added pacer Deepak Chahar in the team, who is yet to make his Test debut for India.

“At 8, I am thinking Shardul Thakur or Deepak Chahar. You’ll get depth in batting, which Gautam Gambhir loves. Basically, they are bowlers who can bat a bit without compromising on bowlers…. if Mohammed Shami is fit I’ll pick him, but if he’s not, then I’ll want to go with Prasidh Krishna,” said Chopra.

Aakash Chopra’s Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, S Sudharsan/Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami/Prasidh Krishna.

The first Test of the five-match series between India and England will begin from June 20 in Leeds.