Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and secretary Devajit Saikia arrived at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai to pick India’s squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England.

Subroto Banerjee, who is one of five members of the selection committee, was also seen arriving at the BCCI headquarters for the high-profile meeting.

India’s all-important Test series against England will take place from June 20 to August 4, with Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford and The Oval being the venues. India are aiming to win a Test series in England for the first time since 2007.

The selection of India’s Test squad was initially scheduled to take place earlier but was postponed by two weeks following Rohit Sharma’s immediate retirement from the format, soon followed by Virat Kohli stepping away from Test cricket as well.

Currently, Shubman Gill is seen as the frontrunner to become India’s next Test captain. However, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are also considered strong contenders for the role. Gill, 25, has received praise for his proactive leadership of Gujarat Titans, guiding them into the IPL 2025 playoffs.

Gill and his GT opening partner Sai Sudharsan are expected to join the India ‘A’ squad ahead of their second match against the England Lions in Northampton. Other Test squad hopefuls, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, and Sarfaraz Khan, along with fellow India ‘A’ teammates, are likely to depart for England on May 25, ahead of the opening game on May 30.

Players such as Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Harshit Rana, and Harsh Dubey will likely fly to England from New Delhi on the morning of May 26. This will come after they feature in the IPL 2025 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday evening – a fixture that marks the final game of the season for both franchises, who have already been eliminated.

–IANS

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