Shubman Gill will begin his Test captaincy stint with the tour of England next month.
India’s Test captaincy post was vacant after Rohit Sharma’s sudden retirement from the longest format earlier this month.
Even though Jasprit Bumrah had led India in a couple of Test matches in Rohit’s absence during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, the selectors put their faith on Gill for the leadership role.
The BCCI selectors’ decision has received a big thumbs-up from former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who welcomed Gill's appointment but also emphasized that the youngster will need some time to rise.
“Every captain has the capability to carry forward the legacy. Captains are not made in 1-2 months. You give some time to Gill, he will rise to the occasion, and you will see how capable he is as a captain. We have already seen him as a batter, that he is 'Gill Sahab the great',” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by ANI.
Additionally, Harbhajan backed the young Indian team to do wonders in England. India are aiming to win their first Test series on English soil since 2007.
"We hope that India does well once again on English soil. Best wishes to Shubman Gill and Team India. It is a young team but a 'dum waali team'," the former off-spinner added.
Since making his Test debut in 2020, Shubman Gill has played 32 matches, scoring 1893 runs at an average of 35.05. However, his numbers aren’t quite impressive in overseas conditions.
So far, Gill has amassed 559 runs in 13 Tests across SENA countries and the West Indies, averaging just 25 with only two half-centuries in 24 innings. He will be keen to improve his Test stats with the additional responsibility of captaincy.
After the series opener in Leeds, India and England will move to Edgbaston (July 2-6) for the second Test, followed by matches at Lord’s (July 10-14), Old Trafford (July 23-27) and The Oval (July 31-August 4).
India Squad for England Tests: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), 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.