Gill named India’s new Test captain

Top-order batter Shubman Gill has been named India's new Test captain, taking over the reins from the recently retired Rohit Sharma.

In a press conference, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Gill as the new captain for the Test side and also announced an 18-member squad for their upcoming five-Test series in England, slated to begin in June.

"We discussed every option that's there, over the last year or so, we've looked at Shubman at various times. Taken a lot of feedback from the dressing room. Very young, but there's been improvement. We're hopeful he's the guy. He's a terrific player, our best wishes to him," Indian selector Ajit Agarkar said in the press conference.

The right-handed batter has featured in 32 Tests for the country, and has 1893 runs at an average of 35.05, with five tons to his name.

Gill has previously captained India in the T20I format, having led the side in the five-game series in Zimbabwe in July 2024.

His first assignment as the full-time Test captain will be on the tour of England. Following the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin, the Asian side will bear a new look in the England tour.

The series will also mark the beginning of the new ICC World Test Championship cycle.

Among notable absentees, pacer Mohammed Shami is not a part of the India setup.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj will be the senior faces supporting Gill. The squad also includes players who have been around the India setup over the past couple of years, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, and Akash Deep.

Returning to the India setup is Karun Nair, who enters the side on the back of a phenomenal run in domestic cricket. Also in the squad is opener Sai Sudarshan, who has been in exceptional form at the domestic and the IPL.

India Squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.