IND vs ENG Test series: K.L. Rahul signals top-order readiness with warm-up hundred

Indian cricket team’s Test vice-captain Rishab Pant departs from Mumbai Airport for England to play a five-match Test series as part of the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle, in Mumbai on June 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI

K.L. Rahul’s composed hundred in the ongoing second unofficial test against England Lions will bring much relief to the India team management ahead of the five-test series in England.

Partnering with Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the batting order, Rahul produced a chanceless knock of 116 in Northampton on a lively track in overcast conditions on Friday (June 6, 2025).

India, under new captain Shubman Gill, have been left with gaping holes in their top order after opener Rohit Sharma and stalwart Virat Kohli quit test cricket last month.

While Rahul, who can bat practically anywhere in the lineup, is likely to succeed Rohit as Jaiswal’s opening partner, either Gill or Karun Nair is likely to fill the void of Kohli at number four.

Nair, who played the last of his six tests in 2017, smashed a double hundred in the first unofficial test in Canterbury.

“We haven’t really decided on the (batting order), we still have some time,” Gill had said in his pre-departure press conference in Mumbai.

“We will be playing an intra-squad match and we will be having a 10-day camp in London. So we still have a little bit of time and I think we can decide on the batting order once we go there.”

The five-test series begins in Leeds on June 20

Meanwhile, the remaining members of the Indian cricket team arrived in the United Kingdom for its much-anticipated five-match Test series against England, starting later this month.

The series is part of the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle.

Team India departed for the U.K. from Mumbai on Friday night.

Several Indian players had already reached England as part of the India A squad currently engaged in a three-match unofficial Test series against England Lions.

“It’s good to be a part of the Indian cricket team, especially in a Test series. Welcome to the UK,” newcomer Sai Sudharsan said in a video posted by the BCCI on ‘X’.

The first Test will be played in Leeds from June 20, followed by matches in Birmingham (July 2–6), Lord’s (July 10–14), Manchester (July 23–27), and The Oval (August 4–8).