Tamil Nadu batter Sai Sudharsan has been handed over his maiden Test cap by former India number three Cheteshwar Pujara to mark his debut in the format in the first Test between India and England at Headingley, Leeds on Friday. Sudharsan will be batting at number three in the match where India have been asked to bat first after English captain Ben Stokes won the toss.
The 23-year-old Sudharsan has already made his debut in the other two formats for India and finished as the highest run-scorer in the recently-held Indian Premier League 2025 playing for Gujarat Titans.
Even though Sudharsan has impressed with his technique and temperament, the left-hander has an underwhelming First Class record for Tamil Nadu. Sudharsan averages only 39.93 in 29 First Class matches and became the first batter in 37 years to debut for India with a sub-40 average. Woorkeri Raman was the last batter to debut in Test cricket with an average of less than 40. He made his Test debut against West Indies in Chennai in 1987/88.
England won the toss and opted to bowl first. For India, another highlight was the return of Karun Nair who made his comeback to the Test side after a gap of eight years.
India vs England 1st Test Playing XI
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
India and England are set to play five Tests over June and July for the newly-minted Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The series will kick start the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle for both the sides.
