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Updated 16 hrs ago • Published 29-May-2025

India's tours of England 2025: Ponting tips Arshdeep for Test debut

By ESPNcricinfo staff

Nair, Thakur, Reddy hit Canterbury nets

Karun Nair, Shardul Thakur, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Abhimanyu Easwaran hit the nets on the eve of India A’s four-day match against England Lions in Canterbury. Nagraj Gollapudi says tomorrow’s game – which is also likely to feature Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Khaleel Ahmed and Aakash Deep - is the start of an audition for a couple of spots in India’s Test team for the upcoming five-match series against England.
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Karun Nair gets ready for India comeback

Karun Nair last played for India more than eight years ago. But a solid Ranji Trophy season for Vidarbha, for whom he scored 863 runs at an average of 53.93, and a couple of good county cricket stints helped him make a comeback in the Test side for the five-match series in England.
Currently, he is with India A in Canterbury, preparing for the first four-day game against England Lions that starts on Friday. Here's a sneak peek of his net session.
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Ponting tips Arshdeep for Test debut

Ricky Ponting reckons Arshdeep Singh could make his Test debut for India this summer in England. Ponting is Arshdeep’s coach at Punjab Kings in the IPL; they are playing Qualifier 1 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a place in the IPL final this evening.
"He'll play in the Test series over there,” Ponting told PTI. “Bumrah Siraj, you know, to have a left-arm option there as well, I think it'd be outstanding. And you think of any English conditions, the way that Arshdeep bowls, he presents the seam as good as anybody, right-arm or left-arm, that's currently playing the game.
"I think he could play the first Test over there and he wouldn't let anybody down. I think it's the right time for him as well. He is in his sort of mid-20s, probably right now at the peak of his powers, I think it'd be a great selection for India in those Test matches."
Arshdeep had received his maiden call-up to the India Test squad for the five-match series in England. The other quicks in the 18-man squad are Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Shardul Thakur.
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Overview of the summer

India's upcoming summer in England is big, like bigger-than-you'd-think big. In a two-month window, India's senior men and women, the A team, and the Under-19 team will be playing their England counterparts in various formats. India have also just announced a 16-member squad for a Mixed Disability T20 International Series against England in June and July.
There’s going to be a lot happening, so this is your one-stop destination for everything informative and entertaining during these tours. List of events, in chronological order, and resources that will give you a bird's-eye view of the summer.
Unofficial Tests (May 30 to June 16): India A begin their tour under Abhimanyu Easwaran with two unofficial Tests against England Lions before taking on the India Test team in a warm-up game.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur are part of the A team as well as the Test team. So are Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan who could join the A squad for the second unofficial Test after completing their IPL duties.
Five men's Tests (June 20 to August 4): The first assignment for both India and England in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle is also the showpiece event as India's Test team begins a new era under Shubman Gill, following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Gill's predecessors as captain.
Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to play all five Tests due to a cautious approach to his workload. Mohammed Shami did not make the squad as he was not fully fit. Ajit Agarkar, India's chairman of selectors, answered all the important questions around selection here.
England, who did not lose a home series in the previous WTC cycle, will hope to start strong while keeping an eye on preparing for the Ashes in Australia later in the year. They haven't finalised their squad yet and have concerns over their fast bowlers. Mark Wood has been ruled out of the series. They also have Tim Southee as a special skills assistant in place of James Anderson.
Under 19 Tests and ODIs (June 24 to July 20): Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the 14-year-old prodigy, and Ayush Mhatre, who debuted for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, will be part of India's Under-19 line-up that will face England Under-19s in five Youth ODIs and two Youth Tests.
Women's white-ball series (June 28 to July 22): England and India will play five T20Is followed by three ODIs, India's final 50-over series before the Women's ODI World Cup at home in September. It will also be Nat Sciver-Brunt's second assignment after taking over from Heather Knight as England captain.
Shafali Verma was not picked in India's ODI squad but made it back to the T20I squad. England are currently hosting West Indies in ODIs and T20Is and are yet to announce their squads.
Between June 21 and July 3, India will also play a Mixed Disability T20 series comprising seven matches in England, including one at Lord’s on June 25, the 42nd anniversary of India’s victory in the 1983 ODI World Cup final.
The summer kicks off with India A training today ahead of their four-day fixture against the Lions in Canterbury, from where we hope Nagraj Gollapudi will have updates for us very soon.
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