IND vs ENG: Who Will Be Yashasvi Jaiswal's Opening Partner During England Tour? Ricky Ponting Backs THIS Player With 4-Game International Experience

IND vs ENG: As the Indian cricket team prepares to kick off a five-match Test series against England from June 20, all eyes are on the new-look squad and, more specifically, the opening combination.

With stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepping away from the longest format, the team is entering a transitional phase-led by Shubman Gill-and major decisions await the team management.

One of the most pressing questions is: Who will partner Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order?

KL Rahul, who opened in four of the five Tests during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, appeared a natural choice. However, legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes India should hand a debut to left-hander Sai Sudharsan, the Orange Cap winner in IPL 2025.

Speaking to Indian Express, Ponting laid out his reasons, saying:
"...the reason I did that was if they go with (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, and if Sai Sudarshan is the other opener, they need someone a bit more experienced at number three. So that could be either, KL at three, or that could be a Karun Nair at three and Shubman at four... once you grow into it, then you can move yourself back up to that number three spot."

Ponting stressed that now is the right time to bring Sudharsan into the red-ball setup.
"I think the time's right for Sudarshan to come into the side, to be honest. There's a bit of a regeneration that's going to happen around this Indian team now, obviously with Rohit and Virat not there. Every team goes through that... seems to me like Sudarshan's ready."

He further backed the 23-year-old's credentials, citing his form and technique:
"Lots of first-class runs, his IPL form this year has been probably better than anybody else. Technically, seems fine. And, you know, KL down in the middle order somewhere probably just gives that bit more stability."

Sai Sudharsan, who has represented India in one T20I and three ODIs, was initially expected to feature in the second India A match against the England Lions. However, those plans changed as he traveled with the senior team to England on June 5. In the recently concluded IPL 2025 season, he grabbed the MVP award as well as the Orange Cap for scoring the most number of runs (759).

Meanwhile, KL Rahul strengthened his case by scoring a hundred in the second unofficial Test on the shadow tour, while Karun Nair also threw his hat in the ring with a double century in the first match.

At the pre-departure press conference, captain Shubman Gill confirmed that the team has not finalized its batting lineup yet. As things stand, the race to open with Jaiswal appears to be a tight one between Sudharsan, Rahul, and Nair.