3 players who could define India's hopes of winning the ENG vs IND 2025 Test series ft. Jasprit Bumrah

Team India will take on England at Headingley in Leeds in the first Test of the five-match series starting Friday, June 20. The visitors played a three-day intra-squad warm-up game in Beckenham before arriving in Leeds via train. The five-match series will mark the start of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for both India and England.

Apart from being hosts, England will start favorites to win the series because India have arrived for the tour with a relatively inexperienced side. The visitors will be without three of their stalwarts - Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma. While Kohli and Rohit have retired from Test cricket, Ashwin quit international cricket midway through the Australia tour.

While India will begin the five-match Test series as underdogs, they do have a few players could make life difficult for England. On that note, let's look at three players who could define India's hopes of winning the Test series against England.

#1 Rishabh Pant

Aggressive wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was the star of the show when India stunned Australia 2-1 in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He took on a strong Australian bowling line-up and smashed 97 in Sydney and a match-winning 89* in the iconic Gabba Test.

Pant may have had a forgettable IPL 2025 season recently, but he is a completely different player in the Test format. He can not only score at a quick pace, but is also capable of playing big knocks that can make a defining impact on a Test. Having been named vice-captain, they will be greater responsibility on Pant.

There were high expectations from the left-hander during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. Pant, however, had an underwhelming series, scoring 255 runs at an average of 28.33. For India to have any hopes of beating England in England, the visitors will need a special effort from Pant.

#2 Jasprit Bumrah

It goes without saying that lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah would be key to India's success in England. Even as India went down to Australia 3-1 in the 2024-25 BGT, Bumrah was exceptional with the ball. He bowled more than 150 overs and claimed 32 scalps, averaging 13.06, with three five-fers and two four-fers. Despite India's loss, the pacer was named Player of the Series.

Bumrah is not likely to play all five Tests of the series against England due to his workload management, which is why he also turned down captaincy. However, even if he plays three out of the five Tests, the right-arm pacer has the ability to make a series-defining impact. Also, he has an excellent record in Test matches against England, which could give him an edge over the opposition batters.

Like the tour of Australia, India would be without the services of Mohammad Shami in England as well. As such, they will be greater responsibility on Bumrah yet again. The rest of pace bowling attack, barring Mohammed Siraj, is highly inexperienced. And even Siraj was not at his best during the tour of Australia. It could thus again come down to the battle between Bumrah and England's batters.

#3 Yashasvi Jaiswal

Team India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal will also have to play a big role for the visitors to upset England in England in the five-match series. The left-handed batter made a stunning start to his Test career in West Indies, but found the going tough on the challenging pitches in South Africa.

The southpaw had a sensational home series against England last year in which he amassed 712 runs. However, there were apprehensions over how he would fare in Australia. Jaiswal, though, gave an excellent account of himself and scored 391 runs in 10 innings. He finished as the second-leading run-getter in the series even as most of the other Indian batters struggled.

It would be fair to say that the tour of England would be the biggest challenge for Jaiswal since the series Down Under. With the ball moving around, his technique and temperament would be put to test. If Jaiswal can find a way to score runs consistently at the top, he could also ease the path for skipper Shubman Gill and vice-captain Pant. How Jaiswal tackles the challenge would be intriguing to watch.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert