 "Karun Nair last played a match for India in 2017, over seven years ago. Image: Reuters")
B Sai Sudharsan was handed his maiden cap while Karun Nair returned to the team after spending eight years in the wilderness as England captain Ben Stokes opted to field in the first Test against India in Headingley on Friday.
The ongoing Test is Shubman Gill’s first since he was named Rohit Sharma’s successor as Test captain, as well as the first since Rohit and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from the five-day format last month.
Sai Sudharsan received his maiden Test cap from Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of toss, and it was perhaps poetic since the Tamil Nadu batter will be batting at a position that the latter, who currently is on commentary duty with BBC’s Test Match Special.
Nair, meanwhile, received a recall into the Indian team after eight years on the back of staggering numbers in the domestic circuit as well as an impressive run in the Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals.
The Vidarbha captain, who had been dropped just a few months after becoming only the second Indian to score a Test triple hundred, had further cemented his place in the batting order with a knock of 204 for India A in the first unofficial Test against England Lions in Canterbury.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAdditionally, Shardul Thakur was included as an all-rounder along with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, having made a strong case for selection with an unbeaten 122 in the intra-squad match in Beckenham recently.
The Stokes-led home team had announced their playing XI a couple of days before the Test, with Ollie Pope retaining his place at No 3 facing intense competition from batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell.
Additionally, bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes returned to the pace department along with express pacer Brydon Carse after sitting out of the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.
India vs England, 1st Test at Headingley, Playing XIs:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir