New Delhi [India], June 5: Indian batter KL Rahul has been included in the India-A squad for the second unofficial Test against the England Lions, starting June 6. This comes ahead of India’s official World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 cycle opener against England scheduled for June 20.
KL Rahul, a seasoned Test player, has played 9 Test matches in England, amassing 614 runs at an average of 34.11, including two centuries and one half-century. His highest score in England stands at 149. During India’s 2018 tour of England, Rahul scored 299 runs across 10 innings with an average below 30 and a strike rate of 66.4. He improved his performance in the 2021 tour, scoring 315 runs in eight innings at an average of 39.4, with a century and a fifty.
In his overall Test career spanning 58 matches, Rahul has scored 3,257 runs at an average of 33.57 and a strike rate of 52.80. His highest Test score of 199 came against England in 2016. Across 13 Tests (both home and away) against England, Rahul has made 955 runs at an average of 39.79.
The India tour of England is scheduled from June to August 2025, with matches set to take place at iconic venues such as Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord’s (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).
While Rahul has joined the India-A squad for the unofficial Test, Shubman Gill, India’s new Test captain and Rohit Sharma’s successor, will not participate in the match. Gill will leave with the main squad for England on Thursday.
India’s Test squad for the 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.