The 25-year-old Shubman Gill has been named as India’s new test captain ahead of the England tour, which begins on June 20.
He will be taking the reins from Rohit Sharma, who announced his retirement amid the IPL 2025 season. Playing his first test five years ago, Gill has proven his game and will be leading the team in the test format.
On this occasion, Team India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar has shed light on the decision to appoint Shubman Gill to lead the India squad for the five-match test series against England.
Agarkar has acknowledged that Gill might face challenges in his debut assignment as skipper due to the demanding English conditions, but he will be the long-term strategy.
It is understood that the selection committee carefully considered various factors before entrusting Gill with the leadership.
During the press conference, Ajit Agarkar has clarified that Shubman Gill’s captaincy isn’t solely focused on the immediate England tour.
It is viewed as a assignment investment in the future of Indian cricket, recognising the substantial growth Gill has demonstrated over the past two years.
“You don’t pick Captains for 1-2 tours. You want to invest in something that is going to help us going forward. We have seen some progress in him over the last 2 years. There is no doubt, it is going to be tough doing a 5 match series in England.”
Say Hello to #TeamIndia‘s newest Test Captain 👋@ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/OkBmNZT5M0
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 24, 2025
“Maybe we will have to learn on the job a little, but we are very confident and that is the reason we are picking him,” Agarkar said in the press conference on May 24.
Shubman Gill hasn’t led the side in red-ball cricket, he gained captaincy experience during a five match T20I series against Zimbabwe in 2024. Shubman Gill brings leadership acumen from the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he captains Gujarat Titans (GT).
Gill has been steadily moving into leadership positions, having served as vice-captains in both ODIs and T20Is. He was Rohit Sharma’s deputy during India’s Champions Trophy campaign where the side won their third title triumph.
In 32 tests, he has 1893 runs which includes five centuries. Looking ahead, Rohit Sharma will continue to lead the ODI side, while Gill will take charge of the Test team and Suryakumar Yadav will lead the T20I squad.
The India test squad is on a transistion period a massive revamp with Gill’s elevation as captain and Rishabh Pant named as his deputy.
Several young talents including Sai Sudharsan has earned his maiden Test call-up while Karun Nair returns to long format after a five year absence.
The five match test series is set to begin on June 20 and will be played across July and first week of August.
India Test Squad for England Tour: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk/vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
