Indian head coach Ravi Shastri tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday during the ongoing ENG vs IND test series. Along with him, three other staff members of the Indian cricket team are in isolation as well. BCCI revealed that the three members are in isolation as a precautionary measure because they were in close contact with the Indian head coach.

The Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour revealed that the team was a bit distracted after hearing the news of another Covid-19 positive member associated with the team.

Read also: ENG vs IND: Mohammed Siraj explains about his 'finger on lips' celebration

The BCCI revealed the names of the four members who are in isolation right now. They are the Indian head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar, and physiotherapist Nitin Patel.

In an interview with Vikram Rathour:

On Sunday, Vikram Rathour said, "Of course, we are missing them massively. Ravi Bhai B Arun, and R Sridhar, they have been an extremely important part of this setup and they have done extremely well (in) the last five-six years and played a major role in the team doing well".

Rathour also revealed how the team handled the situation, "But this is what it is. That's the fact that they are not here. So it was in the morning, I think, a bit of a distraction. We had a word, we spoke (and) decided that we need to focus on what is in hand, which is cricket."

He also added, "It was an extremely important day for us, to focus on cricket. So I think the boys did extremely well to not get distracted. There was a potential that we can (be) distracted from the situation that happened last night, but a lot of credit goes to the boys, the way they handled themselves and the way we played as a team."

The England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday announced a 14-member squad for the first Test of the five-match series against India. The ENG vs IND five-match Test series is starting from June 20. The first match will be played at Headingley on June 20, 2025.

Also Read: Youngest Cricketers to lead India in Tests

Overton replaces Atkinson

Fast bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton has returned. He has been included in the team in place of injured Gus Atkinson. Jamie has returned after the match against New Zealand in June 2022.

Atkinson was unavailable for selection due to a right hamstring injury suffered during the Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.

Carse, Woakes included in the squad

Fast bowlers Brydon Carse, Jacob Bethell and Chris Woakes have also been named in the squad, who last played during the New Zealand Test tour in December. The India A side are already in the United Kingdom, playing warm-up games against England Lions.

Woakes, known for his effectiveness in home conditions, especially at Lord’s, last featured prominently in 2018 against India, where he claimed four wickets and smashed an unbeaten 137.

Young spinner Shoaib Bashir, who starred with nine wickets against Zimbabwe, retains his spot as the lone specialist spinner. IPL winner Jacob Bethell and seamer Sam Cook, both of whom impressed recently, have also earned call-ups.

Ben Stokes to lead the team

England will field a significantly altered team compared to the last time they faced India in early 2024. James Anderson has since retired, while Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and Ollie Robinson are the other notable absentees from the squad.

Ben Stokes, who returned from a hamstring injury in that Zimbabwe Test, will lead England against India in a five-match series that marks the start of both teams’ campaigns in the new ICC World Test Championship cycle.

Also Read: Most runs vs England in England for India in tests

ENG vs IND Test Series Schedule

• 20-24 June 2025 - 1st Test, Headingley
• 2-6 July 2025 - 2nd Test, Edgbaston
• 10-14 July 2025 - Third Test, Lord's
• 23-27 July 2025 - Fourth Test, Emirates Old Trafford
• 31 July-4 August 2025 - Fifth Test, Kia Oval

ENG vs IND | England full squad

Ben Stokes (c), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.

10

423 runs by New Zealand against Sri Lanka in Christchurch, 2018

09

425 runs by West Indies against England in Manchester, 1976

08

434 runs by India against England in Rajkot, 2024

07

465 runs by Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in Chattogram, 2019

06

491 runs by Australia against Pakistan in Perth, 2004

05

492 runs by South Africa against Australia in Johannesburg, 2018

04

530 runs by Australia against South Africa in Melbourne, 1911

03

546 runs by Bangladesh against Afghanistan in Mirpur, 2023

02

562 runs by Australia against England at the Oval, 1934

675 runs by England against Australia in Brisbane, 1928

10 | Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah scalped 93 wickets in the history of the World Test Championship.

09 | Josh Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood has scalped 96 wickets and stands 9th on the list.

08 | James Anderson

The legendary English pacer James Anderson has taken 102 wickets in the history of World Test Championship.

07 | Tim Southee

Tim South has picked up 110 wickets in the history of the World Test Championship

06 | Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada has scalped 115 wickets in the history of the World Test Championship.

05 | Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad has picked up 134 wickets for England in the history of the World Test Championship.

04 | Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc has picked up 141 wickets in the history of the World Test Championship.

03 | Ravichandra Ashwin

Ravichandra Ashwin is India's leading wicket taker in the history of the World Test Championship with 151 scalps.

02 | Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins is second on the list with 169 wickets in the history of the World Test Championship.

Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker in World Test Championship with 170 wickets.

India was 2-1 up in the England vs India Test series and was about to make history by defeating them at home. However, things changed as the series had to stop in between and some rapid changes caused India to change the captain as well. However, newly appointed captain Rohit Sharma could not take the field due to Covid-19 and pacer Jasprit Bumrah was chosen to lead the Indian men at Edgbaston. He became the second Indian pacer to captain the team Test cricket after legendary Kapil Dev.

But, it did not go that well for Bumrah as India could not hold on to the lead and was beaten by England by 7 wickets. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow did all the hitting as they chased down a record total of 378 in the fourth innings. Karsan Ghavri, the former Indian pacer who took 109 test wickets in 39 matches thinks Bumrah was not even the right candidate to lead the side.

Read Also: Wriddhiman Saha To Join Tripura Cricket Team

Kohli should led India

According to him when Rohit Sharma tested positive with Covid-19, India should have gone with Virat Kohli as the captain for the one-off test match. "When Rohit Sharma was not available for this Test , Kohli should have stepped up and said that I will take up the responsibility to lead this team. Winning and losing is a part of the game, but in such a difficult situation, I felt Kohli should have put his hand up," Karsan Ghavri told Mid Day.

Execution issue

Then he went on add that, "Bumrah has never captained any team. Forget about a Ranji Trophy team, he has not even led a club side. Look, a captain's mind is totally different. He needs to keep thinking about making field placements and effecting bowling changes and strategising throughout. In the dressing room, I'm sure Rahul Dravid and the other coaches made a lot of plans, but when the 11 players go onto the field, the captain must execute them. Bumrah couldn't do that."

Read Also: New Zealand Cricket announces equal match fees for both Men and Women cricketers

Everything else is an extra burden for Bumrah

Ghavri feels not all fast blowers can be good captain. The former left arm pacer feels that Jasprit Bumrah is a world-class bowler. However, a fast bowler like Bumrah who is most of times is focused on his own bowling, was not able to execute the plans perfectly. "Everything else is an extra burden on him and not all can handle that. That's why a pure batsman is always the best candidate for captaincy," Ghavri expressed.

Karsan Ghavri also did not like India's approach against Root and Bairstow. He felt although those two batters played like champions, India's negative line helped them as well. As per him, India was too defensive trying to save runs instead to trying to take wickets.

Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant scored another eye-catch, scintillating test match hundred for India yesterday when the team was in dire straits against England and the ball was moving around quite a bit. It was the 5th time that Pant crossed the three-figure mark in Test cricket.

Also Read: Nathan Lyon goes past Kapil Dev to move into the top 10 of all-time Test wicket-takers list

It was not just the runs that Rishabh Pant scored, the pace at which he scored those runs, he ensured that from a bothersome situation of 98 for 5, India recovered to get themselves to a stage where it was all even stevens when the umpires declared the end of the day's play yesterday.

On his way to his hundred, Rishabh Pant also broke the records of two of the stalwarts of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.

MS Dhoni had held the record of scoring the fastest test match hundred by an Indian wicketkeeper-batsman previously, as he had scored a 93-ball hundred against Pakistan in Faisalabad 16 years ago. It was also the first-ever hundred of Dhoni's test career.

Pant got past that record as he completed his hundred in just 89 balls at Edgbaston with 15 fours and a six to his name. The left-hander upped the ante even more after getting to the three-figure mark as he smashed his subsequent 46 runs off just 22 balls with four fours and three more sixes before eventually getting dismissed by Joe Root.

Read Also: Test Cricket Records: Most Sixes in Test

Rishabh Pant becomes the youngest Indian batsman to hit 100 sixes in international cricket

During his innings, Pant also broke the record held by the little master Sachin Tendulkar as the youngest Indian batsman to hit 100 sixes in international cricket. Sachin had completed 100 sixes in international cricket at the age of 25, while Pant did it yesterday at the age of just 24 years and 271 days.

It's quite an amusing stat that Pant has actually hit more sixes in test match cricket than he has hit in any other format. As opposed to the 48 sixes that Pant has hit in the longest format of the game, he has hit only 24 sixes in ODIs and 31 in T20Is.