England vs India: Rishabh Pant reveals Shubman Gill and his batting spots

India vice-captain Rishabh Pant has revealed that Shubman Gill will bat at No.4 against England in the first Test at Headingley, Leeds, while he will bat at No.5, as confirmed by the keeper-batter in the pre-match press conference.

Notably, India is scheduled to take on England in the first Test of the five-match series, starting on June 20 in Leeds in the new WTC 2025-27 cycle. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from this format, Shubman Gill has been appointed as the new Test captain.

On the other hand, Pant didn’t reveal who will bat at No.3. While KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are expected to open the innings, one between Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan is expected to take up the No. 3 role.

"I think there is still discussion going on about who is going to play 3. But 4, 5 are definitely fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at 4 and I am going to stick to No. 5 as of now, and the rest we are going to keep on discussing that," said Pant at the pre-match press conference.

On the other hand, England announced its playing XI for the first Test, with Chris Woakes expected to share the new ball duties with Brydon Carse. Interestingly, Woakes, who missed his previous two Tests due to an ankle injury, has replaced Sam Cook.

While Ollie Pope is expected to bat at  No.3, the batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell has been sidelined from the XI. Ben Stokes, Woakes, Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir are expected to bowl in the first Test.

England playing XI for first Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at Sky365 and download the Sky365 App to start betting today!