Gill named India’s new Test captain for England tour

Shubman Gill was named as India’s new Test skipper on Saturday to lead the team on their five-Test tour of England starting June 20.

The 25-year-old batter takes over from Rohit Sharma, who announced his retirement from Test cricket this month followed by batting great Virat Kohli doing the same. Sharma last led India against Australia during the Boxing Day test.

“We discussed every option that’s there, over the last year or so, and we have looked at Shubman various times,” selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar said. “We have taken a lot of feedback from the dressing room. We are hopeful he is the guy - he is a terrific player and our best wishes to him.”

Gill will lead India for the first time in Tests, having had only T20 captaincy experience prior. He had led India in Zimbabwe in 2024 when other senior players were rested. He currently leads Gujarat Titans atop the Indian Premier League.

His ascension to Indian cricket’s top job comes ahead of the 2025-27 world test championship cycle - India begins its campaign against England.

“You don’t pick captains for one tour or two tours,” Agarkar said. “We have seen some progress over the last year or two with him. No doubt, it is going to be tough as it gets.”

Headingley in Leeds is the setting for the first test.

Gill made his test debut against Australia in December 2020 and has featured in 32 matches since, scoring 1,893 runs at average 35.05.

Gill, who will turn 26 in September, is the fifth-youngest cricketer to become India’s test captain. Keeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been named vice-captain for India’s tour of England.

Jasprit Bumrah had been an option for the captaincy. He led India during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy - in the first test at Perth and then again in the final test at Sydney, where Sharma dropped himself. However, the pacer wasn’t chosen considering his fitness issues.

“We don’t think he will be available for all five tests - whether he plays three or four, we will see based on how the series goes and his workload,” Agarkar said. “We are happy he is part of the squad and have spoken with him. Jasprit understands the decision and his fitness. With him, it is about workload management.”

Sharma, Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, who had also retired mid-series in Australia, are the key names missing from India’s squad. Karun Nair returns to the test fold to lend some experience and is expected to bat in the middle order.

“Virat reached out to us in early April and felt he had given everything he had,” Agarkar said. “We have seen him give 200 percent even when he is on the field, so if he couldn’t keep up to the standards, (he felt) it was time for him. It came from him and we had to respect that.”

Nair has a test triple hundred to his name - against England in Chennai (2016) - and has recently been in fine form. He scored 863 runs in nine Ranji Trophy games (First-Class) and 779 runs in eight Vijay Hazare Trophy games (List-A) in the 2024-25 domestic season. He also played for Northamptonshire in the 2024 County season and scored a double hundred.

Other notable inclusions are those of batter Sai Sudharsan and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.

Sudharsan currently leads the IPL batting charts with 638 runs in 13 games for Gujarat Titans. He is expected to bat at number three, with Gill slotting in at number four to replace Kohli. Experienced batter Lokesh Rahul is expected to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Meanwhile, Singh has been India’s mainstay in white-ball formats and has earned this call-up to the test side after 9 ODIs and 63 T20s. He was also part of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in the West Indies. Pacer Mohammed Shami has been left out owing to poor form and fitness concerns. He had previously also missed the Australian tour due to injury.

Bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who was part of India’s last tour to England in 2021-22, also returns to the squad, which also consists of spin all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.

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

Agencies