Shubman Gill has been officially appointed the 37th Indian Test captain, with chief selector Ajit Agarkar announcing an 18-member squad on Saturday for the five-match high-stakes Test series against England starting June 20.
Wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been named as the vice-captain of the team. The selection panel, headed by Agarkar and accompanied by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, completed the squad in a meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. The news was then announced in a press conference also witnessed by selector Shiv Sunder Das.
Talking of Gill's selection, Agarkar had this to say, "We've talked about every choice that's available, over the past year or so, we've considered Shubman at different moments. Taken a lot of inputs from the dressing room. Very young, but there has been improvement. Hope he is the guy. Great player, all the best to him. You don't choose captains for one tour or two tours.". We have made some progress in the past year or two with him. No question it's going to be as tough as it gets."
Gill takes over the captaincy after Rohit Sharma's recent retirement from Test cricket. The 25-year-old has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at a strike rate of 35.1, including five centuries and seven half-centuries. He has opened and also batted at No. 3 in the order.
Gill's earlier leadership record includes captaining India to a 4-1 T20I series victory over Zimbabwe and acting as vice-captain in white-ball cricket, specifically during India's 2025 Champions Trophy victory in Dubai. In domestic red-ball cricket, he has captained teams five times, winning one game, losing two games, and drawing two games.
Now leading Gujarat Titans during the 2025 season of IPL, Gill has impressed with his calm leadership, gaining admiration from his colleagues and support staff for being clear, making good decisions, and having sound tactical acumen. With him at the helm, Gujarat Titans are now leading the points table and have qualified for the playoffs.
Among prominent inclusions to the Test squad, Karun Nair comes back to the team after seven years, and Arshdeep Singh and B Sai Sudharsan get their maiden Test call-ups. Experienced fast bowler Mohammed Shami has been left out for fitness issues.
Agarkar clarified, "He's had a bit of a set back the last week, got some MRIs. Not going to be able to play five Tests. Don't think his work rate is where he needs to be. Medical people said he'll be ruled out. Were hoping he'll play some role, but if he's not fit, we'd rather select guys fit and available than hold back."
On batting order and team composition, Agarkar further said that Gill, along with recently appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir, would finalize the lineup once they evaluate the conditions in England. "They may take a call on opener once they are there. But once they are there, they'll have a think about that."
On fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah's availability, Agarkar assured that the pace leader may not play all five Tests. "Don't think he'll be available for all five Tests. Whether it's four or three, we'll see depending on how the series pans out and his workload is. Even if he's fit for 3-4 Tests, he'll be an asset for us. Just happy he's in the squad. He's more valuable to us as a player.
He also went on to explain why they did not even think about giving Bumrah captaincy duties, citing workload management. "Once you're looking after people, there's a lot that it takes out of you. We've had a word with him, he's fine with it. He understands where his body's at. KL not really, he's captained a while ago, he's a good player and hope he has a big series. With Booms, it was a matter of his workload management."
The five-match series will run from June 20 to August 4 and will be conducted at some of England's most historic grounds: Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord's, Old Trafford, and The Oval. India will be looking to win a Test series in England for the first time since their victory in 2007.
India's Squad for England Test Series
Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain & wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, B Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
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