B Sai Sudharsan handed maiden cap by Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of India-England Test in Headingley

B Sai Sudharsan received his maiden Test cap from Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of toss on the opening day of the first Test between India and England at Headingley, Leeds on Friday. Sudharsan had previously made his ODI debut during the 2023-24 tour of South Africa and also made his only T20I appearance under Shubman Gill’s captaincy in Zimbabwe last year.

And at the home ground of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, the Tamil Nadu opener will be making his first appearance for the Indian team in whites, once again playing under Gill’s leadership with the latter leading India for the first time in the red-ball format.

Test Cap number 3⃣1⃣7⃣

Congratulations to Sai Sudharsan, who is all set to make his Test Debut 🙌

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/CuzAEnBkyu#TeamIndia | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/wn8kaXdln6

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 20, 2025

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Sudharsan had received his maiden Test call-up on the back of a strong domestic run for Tamil Nadu as well as for Gujarat Titans in the 18th IPL season, in which he finished as the leading run-scorer. Sudharsan received his cap from Pujara, and is likely to bat at No 3 – a position that the latter had made his own for more than a decade.

The southpaw, however, was the only individual receiving his maiden Test cap, meaning Arshdeep Singh will have to wait a bit longer before fulfilling his dream of representing the country in the elite, five-day format.

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England opt to field at Headingley

England captain Ben Stokes later won the toss and opted to field under sunny conditions at Headingley. The hosts had named their playing XI a couple of days before the Test, with Ollie Pope retained at No 3 despite pressure from batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell.

Additionally, bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes and pacer Brydon Carse returned to the pace department after missing the one-off Test against Zimbabwe last month.