Preparations at Beckenham done, headshots completed; India all set for first Test against England in Leeds

London [UK], June 17 (ANI): The Indian team concluded preparations in Beckenham, posed in front of the cameras for the official shoot, and is now bound to leave for Leeds for the opening Test of the highly anticipated series against England, scheduled to begin on June 20 at Headingley.
On Tuesday, the BCCI took to X and shared a video of Indian players posing in front of the camera for the official photoshoot, which was filled with banter, smiles and laughter.
Jasprit Bumrah pointed towards India's logo, vice-captain Rishabh Pant wittily smiled, and young Nitish Kumar Reddy raised his bat and wore a beaming smile. Seasoned all-rounder Shardul Thakur had an intense look, Sai Sudharsan invoked laughter, and KL Rahul and Washington Sundar posed animatedly.
https://x.com/BCCI/status/1934823318940733803
Before heading to Leeds, India bolstered its preparations at Beckenham and hosted an intra-squad match to fine-tune the tactical aspect of the game. The five challenging Tests will mark the commencement of their campaign in the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle and a new era in Indian cricket.
India will enter a territory where they last marshalled a Test series triumph in 2007. Even though India's fortune hasn't changed in England, the Three Lions have transformed into a formidable force under the tutelage of head coach Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes' captaincy. The dynamic duo has not lost a Test series at home since McCullum took over the managerial duties in 2022.
The fourth-ranked Test team will line up without its batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who bid adieu to the Test format last month. Along with the batting wizards, India won't have the presence of its frontline crafty off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from international cricket midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
England squad for first Test vs India: Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes. (ANI)