Top 3 players dropped from India’s squad for England tour 2025

The Indian cricket team for the five-match Test series in England was announced on Saturday. Shubman Gill has been formally named the new captain of the side, with Rishabh Pant getting the vice-captaincy. Rohit Sharma's and Virat Kohli’s retirement from the longest formats of the game saw few new players get called-up. 

Sai Sudharsan, who has been in great form with the bat in the ongoing IPL 2025, has received his maiden Test call-up. Bengal skipper Abhimanyu Eeswaran has also been included in the main squad for the five-match series. The 29-year-old is set to lead the India A side that is set to play the England Lions side in a three-day game in a few days. 

Shardul Thakur, who last played a Test match in 2023, has been recalled to the side. The 33-year-old has been rewarded for his amazing performances in the Ranji Trophy format recently. Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh has also been named in the squad which has veteran pacers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. 

Here are the top three players who have been dropped from India’s squad for the upcoming tour of England 

3- Harshit Rana 

One of the best young talents in 2024, Harshit Rana has been omitted from India’s squad for the upcoming tour of England. Rana, who made his Test debut in Perth, has seen his name being excluded from the list for the tour of England. The right-arm seamer has so far played two Test matches for India and picked four wickets with a best of 3/48. The 23-year-old made a decent impression in Perth but had a game to forget in the following Test in Adelaide. 

2- Sarfaraz Khan  

The exclusion of Sarfaraz Khan has come as a huge shocker to many in the Indian cricketing community. Karun Nair finally earned his recall to the side after more than seven years on the sidelines. Ajit Agarkar, who is the chief selector, said that the absence of Virat Kohli tilted the favour in Karun Nair due to experience. Ajit Agarkar also noted that Nair's experience of playing county cricket worked in his favour. This is a huge blow for the 27-year-old, who has made a truckload of runs for Mumbai, which got him his national cap. Sarfaraz has played six Test matches, scoring 371 runs with an average of 37.1 with one century and three fifties so far. 

1- Mohammed Shami 

Veteran seamer Mohammed Shami, as reported on Friday, wasn’t included in the squad for the England series. Ajit Agarkar said that Shami tried to get fit for the series but had been dealt a new injury blow recently. The veteran pacer, according to Agarkar, also has been through a new MRI scan. Agarkar said that the call was made by the medical team and there was temptation to have Shami for the series ‘at some point’. It was ultimately decided that the veteran seamer can be ignored for the series on medical grounds.