Shubman Gill unveiled as India's new Test captain, Pant his deputy

Shubman Gill has been appointed India's new Test captain following the retirement of Rohit Sharma. His first assignment is the five-Test series in England starting on June 20.

Rishabh Pant has been appointed vice-captain of the 18-man squad ahead of Jasprit Bumrah, who was India's vice-captain during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and led in the two Tests Rohit had missed.

"Obviously you discuss every option that's there. Over the last year or so, we have looked at Shubman at various times. Even when we played England last year. You take a lot of feedback from the dressing room as well," Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of India's selection panel, said after announcing Gill's appointment at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. "Obviously he's very young. We've seen the improvement - I know it's T20 cricket for GT - but we take feedback from a lot of people, and we're hopeful that he's the guy who can... it's obviously going to be, like it always is, a high-pressure job. But we're hopeful we've picked the right guy. He's a terrific player and our best wishes for him.

"You don't pick captains for one or two tours," Agarkar said when asked about the future, especially keeping in mind the upcoming WTC cycle. "We want to invest in something that's going to help us going forward. You're always hoping that it's the right call. We've seen some progress over the last year or two with him. There's no doubt that it is going to be as tough as it gets, in a five-match series in England. Maybe he will have to learn on the job a little bit. But we're very confident with what he has to offer and that's the reason we have picked him."

In the case of Bumrah, he was overlooked for the top job because of "workload management" reasons.

"I don't think he's available for all five Tests. Again, that's what the physios and the doctors have told us. Whether it's four or three [Tests in England], we'll see how the series goes and how his body can take the workload," Agarkar said. "Needless to say how important he is. Whether he is fit for three or four Tests, he is going to win us a few Test matches. We're just glad that he is fit after the setback he had in Australia. He's back playing. I know it's T20 cricket at he moment, but we've seen what he is doing in the IPL. We're just happy he is part of the squad.

"I think he is more important to us as a player [than as a captain]. You want him fit. It's always when you're leading, managing 15-16 other people. There's a lot that it takes out of you. We'd rather have him bowl as well as he does than putting the extra burden on him. He is aware of it. We've had a chat with him and he's okay with it. He knows where his body is at, at the moment. And he'd rather look after himself and be bowling."

About Pant's promotion, Agarkar said, "Pant is one of our better batters in the last couple of years. He will help Gill out with all the experience [he has]. At the moment, these two are the guys we feel will take the team forward."

Elaborating on the challenges Gill could face in England, Agarkar said, "Everyone is going to be tested in England, like it was in Australia. We are confident he has got the goods. It's a massive transition with Rohit and Virat [Kohli] not being around. It's a new cycle, experience can only help. It is going to be tough. [But] as far as his batting is concerned, there's no real issue."

Gill has not captained in Test matches or ODIs, but has led the team in five T20Is, all on a tour of Zimbabwe in mid-2024 when India were missing several first-choice players after the victory in the preceding T20 World Cup.

He has played 32 Tests, having made his debut at the MCG on India's tour of Australia in 2020-21. In those, he has 1893 runs at an average of 35.05, with a significant difference between his home (42.03) and away (27.53) averages. The upcoming series will be Gill's first full tour of England; he played the two WTC finals there in 2021 and 2023, and the fifth Test of the 2021 tour that was played after a postponement because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The five Tests against England will be India's first in the 2025-27 WTC cycle. They play the first Test at Headingley (from June 20), the second at Edgbaston (from July 2), the third at Lord's (from July 10), the fourth at Old Trafford (from July 23), and the final at The Oval (from July 31).

They begin the tour with a four-day match against India A at Beckenham on the outskirts of London between June 13 and 16.