Cricket: “Turning of the tide” - Comparing India's 2021 and 2025 England Test squads
2021 vs. 2025: Out with the old, in with the new
India last visited England back in 2021, and it was a series that will live long in the memory, as a Covid-19 disruption caused the final Test to be delayed by a year. England eventually won the fifth match, recording their highest successful run chase in a Test, completely against the odds of the best online betting sites.
At the start of that series, India arrived in England with an experienced core, including 11 players who had at least 35 Test matches under their belts, seven of whom had already surpassed the 50-Test mark, led by Ishant Sharma with 102 Test appearances.
Other veterans who made the touring squad included Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami. Across the 2021 Indian Test squad, the average games played was 38, and they had 83 centuries combined.
Now in 2025, the Men in Blue look significantly different, with 25-year-old Shubman Gill now serving as the team’s captain for the first time following the retirements of Kohli, Sharma and Ashwin in the last year.
The last touring squad had 11 players over the age of 30 - coming into this year’s series, only two players in the current team have recorded 50 Test appearances, while three players had yet to make their debut before arriving in England.
India’s top three batsmen, Sharma, KL Rahul and Pujara, four years ago had 10,951 combined between them, while India’s number one batter now is 23-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, while their number three, Sai Sudharsan, is making his debut in the longest format of the game.
In the bowling attack, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are the only survivors since the 2021 series, which featured Ashwin, Sharma, Shami, and Umesh Yadav. Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh now form a largely untested contingent in English conditions.
Positive signs showing from Indian young guns in Test 1
Heading into the first Test and given the uncertainty around how India’s younger and relatively untested squad would fare in challenging English conditions, the Men in Blue were installed as clear outsiders against the experienced Three Lions.
However, all indicators point to optimism, as the youthful Indian top order performed admirably. At the top, Jaiswal smashed 101 runs off 151 deliveries in the first innings, while skipper Gill produced a majestic innings of 147 runs, having dropped to number four in an attempt to solidify the middle order.
The most significant contribution, though, arguably came from newly announced vice-captain Rishabh Pant, who is coming off a disastrous Indian Premier League campaign, where he became the most expensive player in the tournament’s history, but failed to make an impact.
Pant notched up 134 runs in 178 deliveries at number five and put on an incredible 219-run stand alongside his captain. While Bumrah was once again the standout bowler in the first innings, Prasidh Krishna impressed with 3/128 in 20 overs, justifying his selection above Arshdeep Singh.
