Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's Test retirements have given India plenty to ponder ahead of the upcoming Test series against England, starting June 20. Ever since the squad was announced, a lot has been said and written about how India could lineup for the first Test in Leeds. Some of India's stars were in action recently, playing two unofficial Tests against the England Lions. In the second game at Northampton, KL Rahul smashed a century in the first innings, before following it up with another 50-plus score, all but cementing his place as one of the openers.

Former India opener Robin Uthappa has urged head coach Gautam Gambhir to stick with Rahul as opener, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. He also vouched for the inclusion of southpaw Sai Sudharsan, pushing captain Shubman Gill to no. 4 and Karun Nair to five, respectively.

"For me, I want to start stronger right at the top, and I would want KL Rahul to open there. With the kind of success he has gotten there, with just the way he batted in Australia, and the way he has batted in the past in England augurs well for India to get him to open the batting," Uthappa said on Star Sports.

"At No. 3, I would love to see someone like Sai Sudharsan because of how technically right he is, and the potential he possesses as what we feel and believe he can do and achieve in Test cricket. No. 4, Shubman Gill for sure. My No. 5 would be Karun Nair because you want a little bit of experience there," he added.

Uthappa picked Rishabh Pant as his wicketkeeper and Ravindra Jadeja as the lone spinner.

"No. 6 - Rishabh Pant, I love him at No. 6. I think that's his sweet spot. At No. 7, I will have Nitish Kumar Reddy because he is a proper fast-bowling all-rounder, your fourth fast-bowling option," he explained.

He also picked Nitish Kumar Reddy to add more depth to the batting, thus ignoring Kuldeep Yadav.

"I will have Jadeja. Again, increased depth, scores runs, and has scored runs in England as well in Test cricket. So I will have him at No. 8," he concluded.

In the pace department, Uthappa picked Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.
Robin Uthappa's India XI for England Tests: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna