Top-order batsman Shubman Gill will captain India during their Test series in England.
The 25-year-old succeeds Rohit Sharma, who retired from Tests recently along with Virat Kohli. He will take charge in the five-Test series in England starting on 20 June.
Gill will lead a team in transition after Rohit (38) and Kohli (36) walked away from the five-day format in the space of six days this month to leave a big void.
His vice-captain will be Rishabh Pant.
Gifted with a wide range of shots, Gill has led the Gujarat Titans into the playoffs of the current IPL.
“Obviously, he’s very young but we’ve seen the improvement,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar told reporters after the team announcement in Mumbai.
He said that, as well as Gill’s IPL performances, the board “take feedback from a lot of people” and the choice was a “unanimous decision”.
“It’s obviously going to be a high-pressure job. But we’re hopeful that we’ve picked the right guy. I mean, he’s a terrific player,” Agarkar said.
“It’s a big job, big transition,” he said, especially with “two of our big players retiring” We were all confident that he is the guy to take us forward.”
However, pace bowler Mohammed Shami has been left out of the 18-man squad due to fitness concerns.
“He’s had a little bit of a setback over the last week or so,” Agarkar said, adding medical scans had ruled Shami out for the series.
Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah is in the squad, although he will not be able to play all five Tests. Bumrah’s workload is being managed while he recovers from a career-threatening back injury – a key reason for him not getting the Test captaincy.
Bumrah was Rohit’s deputy in India’s last Test tour of Australia.
Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj returns after he was dropped from the ODI team for the Champions Trophy this year.
Batsman Karun Nair, who hit an unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai in 2016, will make a comeback eight years after he last played a Test for India.
Gill’s opening partner at Gujarat, Sai Sudharsan, who leads the IPL batting chart with 638 runs, also made the cut.
Agarkar said coach Gautam Gambhir and Gill will decide the batting order and who will replace Rohit and Kohli as opener and number two batter.
Gill has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05, with five hundreds, since his debut in Melbourne in 2020.
He has been a mainstay of India’s batting in Test and ODI cricket and played a key role in the team’s 50-overs Champions Trophy title in Dubai this year.
The Tests in England will be India’s first in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.
The opener is at Headingley, followed by the second Test at Edgbaston from 2 July.
Lord’s hosts the third Test from 10 July, with the fourth at Old Trafford beginning 23 July and the final Test at The Oval from 31 July.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
