Shubman Gill named India's new Test captain ahead of England tour

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Saturday, officially named Shubman Gill as the new captain of the national Test team ahead of the much-anticipated five-match Test series against England.

The announcement came alongside the squad reveal for the tour of England, scheduled to begin on June 20.

The 25-year-old replaces Rohit Sharma, who has retired from the longest format, joining fellow stalwarts Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin in bidding farewell to Test cricket.

Gill’s appointment signals a generational shift in Indian cricket, with a strong emphasis on building for the future.

At 25 years and 258 days, Shubman Gill becomes the fifth-youngest Test captain in India’s history, behind only Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, and Ravi Shastri.

Despite limited red-ball captaincy experience, just five first-class matches, including a Ranji Trophy game, Gill has shown leadership promise in white-ball cricket.

He recently led Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2024 playoffs in only his second season as captain.

“We obviously discussed every option that’s there,” said India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar, while explaining the decision.

“Over the last year or so, we have looked at Shubman at various times, even when we played England last year. We are hopeful we have picked the right guy. He’s a terrific player, and best wishes to him.”

Meanwhile, the 18-member squad also includes some notable inclusions and omissions.

While Karun Nair, Shardul Thakur, and Sai Sudharsan have earned spots, senior pacer Mohammed Shami continues to remain out.

Rishabh Pant, recently back from injury, has been named vice-captain and will resume wicketkeeping duties.

India squad for the Test series against England

Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

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