India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s lengthy meeting with the BCCI selectors has almost confirmed that Shubman Gill piped Jasprit Bumrah to become the next India Test captain, ahead of the England Test tour.

Bumrah was the front-runner and even vice-captain to Rohit Sharma on the Australia tour. He captained India to a huge win in the first Test in Perth when Rohit missed the game on paternal leave. Bumrah then became to captain of India in the last Test in Sydney, but got injured and did not return to the field again.

More than the loss, injured Bumrah dealt a telling blow to his chances of becoming India's long-term Test captain.

Bumrah missed ICC Champions Trophy and was sidelined for three months and this made BCCI selectors question whether he was the right choice to succeed Rohit Sharma. After Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket, Shubman Gill left Bumrah behind in the race for India captaincy.

However, as per the PTI report, not everyone agreed that Gill should be the Test captain. The 'influential people controlling Indian cricket' were annoyed by Gill's quick ascent, but they were kept informed as the board selected him to be the next captain.

Although there were rumors that Bumrah's name would still come up in the conversation, the report also stated that a recent "extended meeting" between the 25-year-old and head coach Gautam Gambhir in Delhi verified that he had been chosen for the position.

“Head coach Gautam Gambhir’s presence in Mumbai, for offering puja at the Siddhivinayak Temple, had the rumor mills working overtime that Shubman Gill is still not a done deal for the leadership role. With the new captain-in-waiting having an extended meeting with the head coach in the national capital a few days back, there is little chance for the selectors or Gambhir to retract from their original stand.

There were rumours that influential people running Indian cricket aren't exactly happy with Gill's sudden elevation, but it would be completely foolhardy to believe that those powerful men weren't taken into confidence before the Punjab batter was zeroed in as the next Test leader," the PTI report read.

Players are expected to depart for London following the June 3 IPL final, and the Indian team is expected to be selected by the end of this month. On June 20, the five-game series versus England will get underway.