Indian pacer earns recall for England Test series opener

Indian pacer Harshit Rana has earned a recall to the national Test squad for the first match of the upcoming five-Test series against England, starting June 20 at Headingley.

Rana, who made his Test debut in Australia last year, was part of the India A squad that played the first unofficial Test against England Lions in Canterbury. The 23-year-old took one wicket in that game and made an impact with the bat by hitting two sixes off England spinner Rehan Ahmed.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Rana has now joined the main squad as they prepare for their first ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–27 assignment under new captain Shubman Gill.

Rana first made headlines in November 2024 during India's tour of Australia, where he picked up four wickets in his debut Test in Perth, helping India secure a dominant 295-run win.

He now strengthens an already experienced Indian pace attack that includes Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and Akash Deep. All-rounders Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy also add depth to the bowling unit.

India's squad for the England series:

Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.

This marks the start of a new era for Indian Test cricket following the retirement of senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli last month.

India last faced England in a five-Test series in 2024, where they came from behind to win 4-1 at home. The upcoming series promises to be another high-stakes battle, with both teams looking to make a strong start to their WTC campaigns.