India’s newly-appointed Test captain Shubman Gill is unlikely to feature in the second unofficial ‘Test’ between India A and England Lions, set to be played in Northampton from June 6.
At the time of announcing the Test squad for the five-match series in England, the BCCI had stated that Shubman Gill and his Gujarat Titans (GT) opening partner B Sai Sudharsan would join the India A side ahead of their upcoming fixture. But according to a report by Espncricinfo, both players will travel with the main squad, which is set to arrive in England on June 6.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul is expected to feature in the match after joining the India A team on Tuesday.
The first Test against England starts in Leeds on June 20.
England Lions, who had a total of six Test caps for the first game in Canterbury, are likely to be bolstered by the addition of Chris Woakes for this game.
For India A, pacer Akash Deep will be available for selection. The right-arm fast bowler had been recovering from a back injury sustained after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year but was declared fit in April and subsequently played in IPL 2025 for the Lucknow Super Giants. Though he was present with the squad during the first unofficial Test, Akash mostly trained on the sidelines, bowling in brief spells during intervals across the four days.
The opening match between India A and England Lions ended in a draw on a flat and slow surface in Canterbury, offering little assistance to the bowlers. Among the standout performers for India A were Karun Nair, who struck a double hundred, Dhruv Jurel with two fifties, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, all of whom contributed quick half-centuries in the second innings.
All-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur, both part of India’s main Test squad, bowled 14.5 and 28 overs, respectively, in the match and are expected to continue building their workloads in the second unofficial Test.
After the Northampton match concludes on June 9, the Indian team will play a closed-door intra-squad fixture against India A in Beckenham. Following that, the senior Test squad will head to Leeds to prepare for the series opener.