Shubman Gill becomes India’s 37th Test captain, Rishabh Pant vice-captain for England tour

NEW DELHI,MAY 24 : Shubman Gill has been appointed India’s 37th Test captain, with the BCCI confirming the decision during the senior selection committee meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, May 24. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia met at the board headquarters to pick a 18-man squad for the 5-Test series against England, starting June 20 at Headingley.

Rishabh Pant was named as Shubman Gill’s deputy for the tour of England. The likes of Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh were handed maiden call-ups in Test cricket. In a big call, Mohammed Shami was not picked due to fitness issues while the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made it to the 18. India A captain, Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been travelling witht the squad, gets another opportunity.

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Gill takes over from Rohit Sharma, who stepped away from Test cricket in May. Gill has been picked ahead of Jasprit Bumrah, who had already captained India in three Tests, including two matches in the absence of Rohit in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“You don’t pick captain for one or two series. We have to think long term. In the last year or so, we have looked at Shubman in the previous times even when we played England last year. He has made a lot of impact in the dressing room,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said after announcing the squad on Saturday.

“We have seen the improvement (in his captaincy). I know it’s T20 cricket for Gujarat Titans, but we take feedback from a lot of people. We are hopeful that he is going to be the right guy.

“We are hopeful we have picked the right guy. He is a terrific player,” Agarkar added.

At 25, Gill has become one of the youngest players to hold the position in recent years. Though he lacks captaincy experience in the red-ball format, he has led India in a five-match T20I assignment in Zimbabwe in 2024. Gill has also captained Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

A look at the squad for India Men’s Tour of England #ENGvIND | @ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/y2cnQoWIpq— BCCI (@BCCI) May 24, 2025

Gill has also served as vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is. He was Rohit Sharma’s deputy in india’s victorious Champions Trophy campaign in the UAE in February 2025.

In Test cricket, Gill has played 32 matches and scored 1,893 runs, including five centuries. His elevation to the role signals a forward-looking decision by the selectors, favouring long-term continuity as the team transitions into a new World Test Championship cycle.

However, there are concerns over whether captaincy has been thrust upon Gill, who is yet to cement his place in the Test side. To date, Gill has scored 559 runs in 13 matches in SENA countries and the West Indies, averaging just 25, with only two fifties in 24 innings. Since his match-winning 91 in the famous Brisbane Test in 2021, Gill has yet to score a half-century in any of these regions.

Gill now steps into the forefront of leadership at a time when the team is undergoing a generational shift – both in personnel and approach. Ever since India failed to qualify for the 2023-2025 World Test Championship final, following back-to-back series defeats to New Zealand at home and then to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, there has been growing speculation about India looking to revamp their Test side with young faces at the forefront.

With Shubman Gill taking charge and leading a relatively young squad in the wake of retirements from senior figures like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, fans will be hopeful that he can guide India into a new phase marked by consistency and success.

INDIA SQUAD FOR ENGLAND TEST SERIES

Shubman Gill (captain)

Rishabh Pant (wk) (vice-captain)

Yashasvi Jaiswal

KL Rahul

Sai Sudharsan

Abhimanyu Easwaran

Karun Nair

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Ravindra Jadeja

Dhruv Jurel (wk)

Washington Sundar

Shardul Thakur

Jasprit Bumrah

Mohammed Siraj

Prasidh Krishna

Akash Deep

Arshdeep Singh

Kuldeep Yadav.

-PTI