Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has criticised the selection of India’s squad for their upcoming tour to England, describing it as “odd.” The 59-year-old pointed out that India would approach the series with little pressure, as the team is currently in a transition phase following the retirement of R Ashwin from international cricket and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Test cricket.

Manjrekar also stressed that both fans and other stakeholders in Indian cricket would need to remain patient regarding the team’s performances during this period of change.

“Strange team selection overall. But India go to England with nothing to lose. It’s a team in transition so we can only wish it the very best & yes, be patient when it comes to returns on investment,” Manjrekar wrote on X on Saturday, May 24.

Earlier this month, Manjrekar had expressed his support for Jasprit Bumrah as the ideal candidate to take over as the new Test captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. However, the selectors chose to appoint Shubman Gill as the captain, while Rishabh Pant was named vice-captain.

Sai Sudharsan, the current Orange Cap holder in IPL 2025 and an opening batter for Gujarat Titans, earned his first call-up to the Indian Test squad. Karun Nair, who last represented India in 2017, was recalled following an impressive Ranji Trophy season with Vidarbha.

Sarfaraz Khan and Harshit Rana, who were part of the series against Australia, have been dropped from the team for the upcoming England tour. Instead, India have selected a squad featuring five primary fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav will lead the spin-bowling department.

India have not secured a Test series win in England since 2007, when Rahul Dravid’s side won the three-match series 1-0.