The leadership baton is being relayed in the Indian camp as Shubman Gill was named the new captain of the Test team on Saturday, May 24. Ajit Agarkar, India Men’s chairman of selectors, made the announcement while unveiling the squad for the upcoming five-Test series in England, scheduled to begin in June. Rishabh Pant has been named as Gill’s deputy.
Agarkar clarified that exprienced campaigner Jasprit Bumrah, who has donned the captain’s blazer before, was not considered for the role as he may have to miss a match here and there owing to workload management.
India’s 18-member squad for the England tour includes maiden Test call-ups for Arshdeep Singh and Sai Sudharsan alongside recalls for Karun Nair and all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana, Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal didn’t find a mention.
Shubman Gill-led #TeamIndia are READY for an action-packed Test series 💪
A look at the squad for India Men’s Tour of England 🙌#ENGvIND | @ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/y2cnQoWIpq
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 24, 2025
Gill’s elevation to Test captaincy heralds a new era in Indian cricket. Alongside skipper Rohit Sharma, who had led India since February 2022, fellow veterans Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin have also drawn the curtains on their Test career since the start of India’s last Test assignment.
Aged 25 years and 258 days, Gill becomes the fifth-youngest cricketer to spearhead India in Tests, behind Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (21 years, 77 days), Sachin Tendulkar (23 years, 169 days), Kapil Dev (24 years, 48 days), and Ravi Shastri (25 years, 229 days).
Though he is wet behind the ears when it comes to red-ball captaincy, having led in just five first-class matches, Gill has proved his mettle as captain of the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, ushering them to a playoff berth in his second season at the helm.
“We obviously discussed every option that’s there. Over the last year or so, we have looked at Shubman at various times, even when we played England last year, to take a lot of feedback, even in the dressing room as well,” said Agarkar. “Obviously, he is very young but you have seen the improvement – and I know it’s T20 cricket – for GT [Gujarat Titans] as well. We are hopeful we have picked the right guy. He’s a terrific player, and best wishes to him.”
Agarkar did not state Gill’s batting position, but India have included players like Karun Nair — who last wore a Test cap in 2017 and returns to the mix on the back of a solid domestic season — and the uncapped Sudharsan, both of whom are capable of playing at one or two drop. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal remain the incumbent openers, with the ever-so-consistent Abhimanyu Easwaran making the cut as the reserve. Padikkal, who batted at No. 3 during the Perth Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, was overlooked since he is recovering from an injury.
Meanwhile, Shardul Thakur, whose all-round capabilities are expected to be valuable in English conditions, has earned a recall. He joins a cohort of all-rounders that includes Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar. Kuldeep Yadav, who was unfit for the Australia tour, comes back as the lone frontline spinner.
Agarkar revealed that Shami was not considered for selection following advice from the medical team, which deemed his body unprepared to handle the rigours of Test bowling at this stage. “He’s been trying to get fit for a series but I think he’s had a setback over the last week or so. He’s got some MRI done. I’d like to mention I don’t think he was going to be able to play five Tests at the moment. I don’t think his workload is where it needs to be, so it’s just the medical guys who’ve told us that he’s been ruled out of the series, unfortunately.
“We were hoping him to be available for some part of the series at least but if he’s not fit at the moment, it’s very difficult to keep waiting. We’d rather plan with the guys that are fit and available at the moment.”
Arshdeep Singh, a regular feature in India’s white-ball squads, has made the jump to the whites and will strengthen a pace attack comprising of talisman Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep. Notably, clips of the left-armer’s viciously swinging deliveries in the County Championship drew admiration in 2023. Harshit, who played two Tests in Australia, was left out while Dhruv Jurel is the back-up keeper in the squad.
The Test series will kick off on June 20 in Headingly, Leeds. The following Tests will be held in Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford and Oval respectively.
