Live report - Shubman Gill named India's new Test captain, Rishabh Pant his deputy

Agarkar: "Shreyas had a good one-day series, played well in domestic as well but right now there's no room in test cricket."

On Shardul and Nitsh: Shardul a bowling allrounder, sometimes you need a player like that depending on team balance. he's going on the A tour as well. NKR is a batting allrounder at this point, hopefully his bowling will come along as well."

"He's a quality bowler and has had a taste of counTy as well. he plays domestic when he can. A tall guy, can bowl with the new ball, has body of work in red-ball cricket and in recent form in the last couple of years. Bumrah unlikely to play all five Tests, we needed a bit of variety."

"Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test and then didn't get runs. Sometimes it's decisions the team management takes. At the moment, Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic, has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat not there, clearly we're lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help. "

"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.

On why Bumrah wasn't considered vice-captain:

More important to us a player. 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."

"When guys like that retire, always big holes to fill. Ashwin also retired. Those three have been stalwarts. Always difficult. One way of looking at it is, opportunity for someone else. Had conversations with both of them. Virat reached out early April, seem him give 200% every ball he plays even when he's not batting or on the field. Felt he'd given everything he had, if he can't keep up to the standards it was time for him. It's come from him. Have to respect that. They've earned that respect."

"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. We're hopeful he's the guy. He's a terrific player, our best wishes to him."

"You don't pick captains for one tour or two tours. We've seen some progress over the last year or two with him. No doubt it's going to be as tough as it gets."

"GG and Shubman might take a call on opener once they get there. But once they get there, they'll have a think about that."

On Shami:

"He's had a little bit of a setback over the past week, got some MRIs done. Wasn't going to be able to play five Tests. Don't think his workload is where he needs to be. Medical guys told he'll be ruled out. We were hoping he'll play some part, but if he's not fit, we'd rather pick guys fit and available rather than waiting."

Secretary Devajit Saikia has left the meeting. Says the PC should start anytime soon. Our correspondent Vishal Dikshit too is headed upstairs now. Let's go

Ajit Agarkar is set to announce the team and field questions at a press conference at 1.30pm IST

Ravindra Jadeja seems a certainty. But India will also heavily bank on a seam-bowling allrounder.

Shardul Thakur hasn't been given a central contract, but Shardul Thakur has forced his way back into the reckoning on the back of a strong showing in the Ranji Trophy.

Then there's Nitish Kumar Reddy, the fourth-leading run-scorer in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He scored a memorable maiden Test century in front of a nearly-full MCG.

Nitish has fully recovered from his injury and has begun bowling. During the IPL, he was also training intermittently with the red-ball. It's likely Shardul and Nitish will both make the squad.

Here's Nagraj Gollapudi: "One of the key decisions facing the selection panel is whether to pick Mohammed Shami, who hasn’t built the required red-ball bowling workload to be deemed match-fit for the England Test series.

Initially, the selectors planned to include Shami in the India A squad touring for two unofficial Tests against the England Lions. However, he was left out as the BCCI medical team had not yet cleared him for red-ball cricket."

Shami has come through a lot of white-ball cricket, both at the domestic level and IPL, but didn't look the most comfortable in his lone Ranji outing for Bengal in November last year.

For the better part of the last 14 years, there was no debate. Cheteshwar Pujara was the undisputed occupant of the No. 3 spot in India's Test line-up. While he hasn’t officially bowed out, all signs suggest the selectors are unlikely to turn back to him.

In Australia, when Shubman Gill was sidelined due to a finger injury, Devdutt Padikkal stepped in at No. 3 for the first Test in Perth. However, Gill reclaimed his place upon recovery, taking the spot in Adelaide and Brisbane.

The reshuffling continued at the MCG. With Rohit Sharma returning to open, Gill was dropped, and KL Rahul slotted in at No. 3. That experiment lasted just one Test before Gill returned to the position in Sydney.

This lingering uncertainty could be resolved if Gill decides to make No. 3 his permanent home. But if he opts to move down to No. 4 in the absence of Virat Kohli, the question of who fills the crucial No. 3 role becomes wide open.

Is this where Sai Sudharsan fits best? Or does Karun Nair, resurgent in domestic cricket and eight years removed from his last Test appearance, deserve another opportunity?

Is this Abhimanyu Easwaran’s chance to finally earn a Test cap?

He was a reserve opener in Australia. He’s now been named India A captain for the two first-class fixtures against England A.

What goes in his favour is experience: 101 first-class games, 7674 runs, 27 first-class centuries. But there's also B Sai Sudharsan, who the selectors have been massively impressed with.

He has been a revelation in the IPL for Gujarat Titans. He’s got some county experience with Surrey, but hasn’t played a lot as an opener for Tamil Nadu. He averages 39.93 across 49 first-class innings, and has seven centuries.

Or maybe it could be straightforward with Rahul & Jaiswal opening.

That’s likely to be the biggest announcement in a short while from now.

We're hearing Gautam Gambhir isn't there yet, but chief selector Ajit Agarkar & co have convened at BCCI HQ to have a final meeting before unveiling the new captain as well as the Test squad for the five-match series in England that will kickstart India’s new WTC cycle.

When Jasprit Bumrah led India to a seminal win in Perth to kick off BGT 2024-25, it seemed inconceivable to think that that he won't take over from Rohit Sharma whenever his time was up.

And then Sydney happened - where Bumrah injured his back and missed three months of cricket. His injury history and the possibility of him not being available to play all Tests - part of his workload management - seems to have a bearing on the big decision.

An announcement is just a mere formality.