Shubman Singh Gill

India missed out on last year's final, thus every point was crucial in the fifth Test, which was their first series in the new WTC cycle.

The Duleep Trophy will mark the start of the 2025-26 Indian domestic season, returning to its traditional zonal format.

Shubman Gill played a massive role in India's creditable 2-2 draw, scoring 754 runs with four hundreds in the five-match series.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Test captain Shubman Gill have not featured in the last few T20 assignments owing to a packed calendar but their one-month rest period post the five-Test series against England is expected to make them available for the continental tournament.

While Shubman Gill (754 runs) missed breaking Sunil Gavaskar's record of most runs for any Indian in a bilateral Test series (774), he did go past the latter's record of most runs for an India captain in a series (732).

A chunk of the India squad members, including Mohammed Siraj, boarded an Emirates flight less than 24 hours after a dramatic finish to the fifth and final Test of a long and gruelling series.

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj was instrumental throughout the series and finished with statistics of 5 for 69 in the fourth innings.

Five major hurdles India overcame to secure the 2-2 draw in the series against England.

Bowling with nerves of steel, Siraj delivered a searing yorker that crashed into Atkinson’s off-stump, ending the game in spectacular fashion.

The double strike after tea completely changed the course of the match, placing India squarely back in the contest and instantly putting pressure back on England.

Shubman Gill amassed 754 runs from 10 innings, which is 21 short of Sunil Gavaskar’s record of most runs by an Indian in a Test series.

Despite losing all five tosses in the series and India trailing 1-2 in the five-match contest, Gill has shown immense growth as a leader in less than two months.

Gavaskar’s record of 732 runs came during a six-match home series against the West Indies in the 1978–79 season, a benchmark that stood tall for decades—until Gill’s remarkable form redefined it.

Interestingly on Wednesday, leading English players like batting mainstay Joe Root and stand-in skipper Ollie Pope were found standing on the match pitch doing shadow batting.

There was a week-long gap after the first Test in Leeds and the third Test at Lord's, but teams just had a three-day turnaround between the second and third match, and fourth and the fifth game.

Gill was hesitant to bring on Sundar, but Ravindra Jadeja was given a few overs in between. The fact that Sundar had taken five wickets in the last Test at Lord's made it all the more surprising.

Gautam Gambhir also said that those who have doubts about Shubman Gill, lack knowledge of cricket.

Shubman Gill had never previously batted more than 243 minutes in the second innings of a Test, and his Old Trafford vigil has now already gone past five hours.

The Manchester Test laid bare the tattered fabric of the Indian team management's negative mindset.

Shubman Gill scored a couple of tons, and a double century in the first two Tests but as the series progressed his form saw a significant drop.