The BCCI announced an 18-member Test squad for the upcoming tour of England last week, with 25-year-old Shubman Gill being named the new captain.
Gill was handed captaincy ahead of Jasprit Bumrah, who had already led India in three Tests, including two matches during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25.
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was assigned the vice-captaincy role as India embark on a new era in Test cricket following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Speaking to Star Sports, India’s first-choice T20I opener Abhishek Sharma welcomed the selectors’ move to appoint Shubman as Test skipper, saying that latter is one of the best players produced by the country in all three formats of the game.
Abhishek, who shares a deep bond with Gill, further stated that he was proud of the 25-year-old’s achievement.
“I think if I see his career you know if I remember the old days when we were just started playing for the U-14 and U-16 Punjab team. As youngsters, we all started with the red ball, from that time to now, it is a big achievement to become India’s Test captain and I feel very proud of him,” Abhishek said.
The southpaw expressed confidence in Shuman Gill’s ability and backed him to do well both as a batter and captain.
“Humne junior cricket saath dekha tha (We’ve watched and played junior cricket together.) He is one of the best players India has produced in all three formats, and wo acha isko nibhayega bhi (he will play his role to perfection). I believe he will do really well for Team India and as a captain as well,” added Abhishek.
India’s five-Test tour of England is slated to get underway on June 20 at Headingley, followed by matches at Lord's (June 28), Trent Bridge (July 6), The Oval (July 14), and Old Trafford (July 24).
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.
