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India seem to be on a roll in white-ball cricket. Be it ODIs or T20Is, they have been absolutely dominant. Since the start of 2024, they have 28 wins from 31 T20Is which includes the coveted ICC T20 World Cup title which they won in June last year.
In the 50-over format, their win-loss record reads 32-9 in the last two years. They reached the final of the 2023 World Cup without dropping a game before they lost to Australia in the title-clash. They have already made it to the semi-finals of the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy. Thus, there is no question about India’s quality, depth or performances in the shorter formats.
However, the ‘Men in Blue’ have had a tough run in the recent past in Test cricket. They lost a home series for the first time in 12 years when New Zealand whitewashed them 3-0 in October-November last year. Their poor run continued in Australia as they conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in 10 years. Australia won that series 3-1.
India’s next challenge in Test cricket is another tough away tour of England which will kickstart on the 20th of June. There is just a 25-day gap between the final of IPL 2025 and the first Test against England which is scheduled to be played in Headingley, Leeds.
Having played their last red-ball game in January, most of the Indian players would’ve had a lot of white-ball cricket in the lead-up to the five-match Test series in England. Hence, according to reports on Cricbuzz, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) are creating a plan for the players to have red-ball practice during the 2025 edition of the IPL. It is largely to keep the players, especially those not in the best of forms in touch with red-ball cricket.
The precise nature of the details of the strategy to keep players in sync with Test cricket wasn’t disclosed but talks have already begun for the same. In fact, according to Cricbuzz, it is understood that the team management and top BCCI officials briefly discussed about the roadmap during India’s high-octane clash against Pakistan on Sunday (February 23) in Dubai.
India’s recent Test record in England
India were excellent when they last toured England for a Test series. With COVID ongoing, India played four Tests in 2021 before they had to abandon the fifth and play it in 2022. While they were leading the series 2-1 in 2021, they lost the fifth Test in Birmingham the following year and that levelled the series 2-2.
In 2018, they lost 1-4. However, the scoreline doesn’t reflect on the quality of cricket that India played. They challenged England significantly but lost key moments which eventually came back to bite them.
India’s last Test series win in England came back in 2007 when the Rahul Dravid-led side won 1-0.
