Right-handed batsman Shubman Gill has been formally chosen as India's 37th Test captain, with chief selector Ajit Agarkar declaring an 18-player group on Saturday for the highly anticipated five-match Test series against England, starting June 20.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will be the vice-captain. The team was finalized in a selection meeting at the BCCI office in Mumbai. Agarkar, assisted by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia as the convener of the meeting, announced the team in a press conference along with fellow selector Shiv Sunder Das.
“We discussed every option that’s there, over the last year or so, we’ve looked at Shubman at various times. Taken a lot of feedback from the dressing room. Very young, but there’s been improvement,” said Agarkar, explaining the rationale behind Gill’s elevation.
"Hopefully, he's the man. He's a great player, all the best to him. You don't select captains for one tour or two tours. We've made some strides the past year or two with him. No question it's going to be as tough as it gets," he further added.
Gill takes over the leadership role after Rohit Sharma recently retired from Test cricket. The 25-year-old, who has played both as an opener and at number three in the format, has scored 1893 runs in 32 Tests at a strike rate of 35.1, with five hundreds and seven half-centuries.
While his Test captaincy debut is a first, Gill has led India in white-ball cricket before. He captained India to a 4-1 T20I series win in Zimbabwe last year and was the designated vice-captain during the team’s victorious 2025 Champions Trophy campaign in Dubai. In the domestic first-class circuit, his leadership record stands at one win, two losses, and two draws from five games.
Now leading Gujarat Titans in the IPL, Gill has taken the franchise to the pinnacle of the 2025 points table with a playoff spot assured. His captaincy has been widely appreciated for its strategic merit, even-tempered nature, and positive decision-making.
Among the notable picks, Karun Nair comes back to the Test team after seven years. Arshdeep Singh and B Sai Sudharsan earned their first-ever Test summons. But experienced pacer Mohammed Shami is left out of the team for fitness reasons.
"He's been a bit down the last week or so, got some MRIs. Wasn't going to be able to play five Tests. Don't believe his workload is where it needs to be. Medical staff said he'll be ruled out. We were hoping he'll play some role, but if he's not fit, we'd rather take guys fit and available than wait," Agarkar explained.
On the batting order of the team, Agarkar mentioned that skipper Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir would decide the opening pair upon reaching England and reviewing conditions there. "They may take a decision on opener when they reach there. But when they reach there, they will think about it," he mentioned.
Agarkar also spoke of Jasprit Bumrah's workload, saying the pacer will not be playing all five Tests.
“Don’t think he’ll be available for all five Tests. Whether it’s four or three, we’ll see based on how the series goes and his workload is. Even if he’s fit for 3-4 Tests, he’ll be an asset for us. Just happy he’s part of the squad. He’s more important to us a player,” he said.
“Once you’re managing people, there’s a lot that takes out of you. We’ve had a chat with him, he’s okay with it. He knows where his body’s at. KL not really, he’s captained a while back, he’s a quality player and hope he has a big series. With Booms, it was more about his workload management,” Agarkar added.
The June 20-August 4 Test series will see matches played at Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord's, Old Trafford, and The Oval. India is committed to ending their prolonged drought of a Test series win in England—the last being in 2007.
India's England Tour Test Squad:
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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