India's tour of England: How will India squad look like after Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's Test retirements?

A new era beckons the Indian Test team. After legendary off-spinner retired from Test cricket earlier in 2025, during the Border Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, the Test team has seen two more depletions.

And they are big.

Last week, captain Rohit Sharma called time on his Test career in a move that, while not too surprising, raised a fair few eyebrows.

An even bigger fish called time on his career today after one of the sport's all-time great batsman, Virat Kohli, announced his decision to retire from the longest format of the game.

India tour of England 2025

With India losing their core players, the Test team is set to bare a new look. India is set to embark on a 5-match Test series in England, starting June 20 and the squad is expected to see a major shake-up after these retirements.

With the new World Test Championship starting off with India's tour to England, India will need a new leadership group.

Multiple reports suggest that fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is not being considered for India's Test captaincy, which could pave the way for Shubman Gill's ascension.

The stylish top order batsman is one of the brightest stars in world cricket at the moment and has seen his stock rise over the last couple of years.

New Captain, new top order

While India will not only need a new captain, which will likely be Gill, they will also need to fill in the void left by the retirement of both Sharma and Kohli.

The duo occupied crucial spots in India's top order with Sharma opening the innings while Kohli coming in at number 4.

The contenders for these two spots are many with some of them fit enough to play either role.

The likes of Test regulars Gill and KL Rahul can do both roles, while Karun Nair could be a perfect fit to replace Kohli at number 4.

Meanwhile, India could rope in Sai Sudarshan as an option to replace Rohit Sharma in the opening spot. The Gujarat Titans left handed batsman was one of the contenders for the IPL 2025 Orange Cap before the league was temporarily suspended last week.

India's probable squad for tour of England

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have not announced a squad for the England tour – with other pressing matters taking precedence – it could shape up to something like as follows:

Batsmen: Shubman Gill (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair

Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel

Fast-bowling all-rounders: Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur

Spin-bowling all-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar

Fast bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep

Spinner: Kuldeep Yadav

The probable starting XI: Sai Sudharsan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill (C), KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami

Depending on the conditions, Ravindra Jadeja might be the lone spinner in the XI. If the pitch in any of the five Test offer some purchase for the spinner, Kuldeep Yadav could find himself sharing spin duties with Jadeja.