Team India is set to play a five-match Test series against England, beginning on June 20 in Leeds. BCCI announced an 18-member squad captained by Shubman Gill. However, Shreyas Iyer, who is currently in great form and has led Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the playoffs in IPL 2025, failed to make the cut. Head coach Gautam Gambhir opened up on Wednesday (May 28) about Iyer’s exclusion from the Indian squad.
Gautam Gambhir on Shreyas Iyer not being selected
“I am not a selector,” Gautam Gambhir replied when asked about Shreyas Iyer not being selected in the Indian squad. He then changed the focus to a question about BCCI inviting the chiefs of the armed forces to attend the IPL 2025 final in Ahmedabad. After Gambhir’s statement, speculations were made on whether he indirectly pointed to Team India chief selector Ajit Agarkar for the decision.
Ajit Agarkar on Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion
The BCCI chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, had earlier given an explanation on why Shreyas Iyer did not find a place in the Indian Test team for the tour of England.
“Shreyas had a good one-day series, played well in domestic as well, but right now there is no room (for him) in Test cricket,” Agarkar said during a media interaction after the squad announcement in Mumbai last week.
India full squad for England tour
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
India’s schedule for England tour
1st Test: June 20–24, 2025, Headingley, Leeds, starting at 3:30 PM IST
2nd Test: July 2–6, 2025, Edgbaston, Birmingham, beginning at 3:30 PM IST
3rd Test: July 10–14, 2025, Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, commencing at 3:30 PM IST
4th Test: July 23–27, 2025, Old Trafford, Manchester, starting at 3:30 PM IST
5th Test: July 31–August 4, 2025, Kennington Oval, London, beginning at 3:30 PM IST
