'Jaiswal, Rahul, Easwaran, Gill ...': Pujara's top four for England Tests

NEW DELHI: All eyes will be on a young Indian side as they begin a new era under 25-year-old captain Shubman Gill when they take on England in the opening Test of the five-match series starting June 20 at Headingley in Leeds. The tour signals a fresh chapter for Indian cricket, following the retirement of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the Test arena.Following Rohit’s exit from the longest format, Gill was handed the reins and became India’s 37th Test captain. His first assignment will be the challenging tour of England, which also kicks off India’s campaign in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who has featured in 16 Tests in England, shared his thoughts on what India’s top order should look like in English conditions.Who's that IPL player?Pujara, who last played for India in June 2023, believes KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal should retain their places at the top of the order."The openers who batted in Australia in BGT (Border-Gavaskar Trophy) series -- KL Rahul and Yashavi, should continue. Now talking about no.3, at this stage we don't know whether Shubman will bat there or drop down to No.4," Pujara said on Sunday during an online interaction organised by Sony Sports Network, the official broadcaster of India’s tour of England.

"If Shubman bats at No.4, then someone like Abhimanyu Eshwaran or Karun Nair could be a good fit at that position but I would still like to see Shubman batting at No.3," he added."Someone like Karun who has done very well in domestic cricket, I think ideal position for Karun would be No.4. If Shubman bats at No.3, then Karun Nair comes at No.4. If Shubman bats at No.4, then at No.3 it would be a choice between Abhimanyu Eshwaran or Sai Sudharsan," he said.

'CHALLENGE FOR GILL'Gill is no stranger to English conditions, having played in both World Test Championship finals — in 2021 and 2023. He also featured in the rescheduled fifth Test from the 2021 tour, held in Birmingham in July 2022. Additionally, he had a brief county stint with Glamorgan.With Gill set to lead India in a challenging away series, Pujara believes it will be a significant test for the youngster.“When he goes to England, and when he starts his preparation, he will understand that these are the shots which he can play while the ball is new.

Plus, there are some shots which you need to avoid when the ball is new, and it's swinging or seaming around a bit. I would say it's very similar to what you get in Australia where the ball does a bit more for the first 25-30 overs and then it settles down a bit,” Pujara said.

“So, once the ball gets old, you as a batter, you can play a few more shots. But if he is batting at number 3 or 4 and India loses one or two wickets early on, then he might have to change his game a bit. He is capable enough to do that, and once he goes there, I am sure he will understand what he has to do,” he added.