Shubman Gill has been appointed India’s 37th Test captain, with the BCCI confirming the decision during the senior selection committee meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, May 24. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia met at the board headquarters to pick a 18-man squad for the 5-Test series against England, starting June 20 at Headingley.
Rishabh Pant was named as Shubman Gill’s deputy for the tour of England. The likes of Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh were handed maiden call-ups in Test cricket. In a big call, Mohammed Shami was not picked due to fitness issues while the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made it to the 18. India A captain, Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been travelling witht the squad, gets another opportunity.
Gill takes over from Rohit Sharma, who stepped away from Test cricket in May. Gill has been picked ahead of Jasprit Bumrah, who had already captained India in three Tests, including two matches in the absence of Rohit in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“You don’t pick captain for one or two series. We have to think long term. In the last year or so, we have looked at Shubman in the previous times even when we played England last year. He has made a lot of impact in the dressing room,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said after announcing the squad on Saturday.
“We have seen the improvement (in his captaincy). I know it’s T20 cricket for Gujarat Titans, but we take feedback from a lot of people. We are hopeful that he is going to be the right guy.
“We are hopeful we have picked the right guy. He is a terrific player,” Agarkar added.
At 25, Gill has become one of the youngest players to hold the position in recent years. Though he lacks captaincy experience in the red-ball format, he has led India in a five-match T20I assignment in Zimbabwe in 2024. Gill has also captained Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.
Gill has led in only five first-class matches, winning only one of them with Punjab.
Gill has also served as vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is. He was Rohit Sharma’s deputy in india’s victorious Champions Trophy campaign in the UAE in February 2025.
In Test cricket, Gill has played 32 matches and scored 1,893 runs, including five centuries. His elevation to the role signals a forward-looking decision by the selectors, favouring long-term continuity as the team transitions into a new World Test Championship cycle.
However, there are concerns over whether captaincy has been thrust upon Gill, who is yet to cement his place in the Test side. To date, Gill has scored 559 runs in 13 matches in SENA countries and the West Indies, averaging just 25, with only two fifties in 24 innings. Since his match-winning 91 in the famous Brisbane Test in 2021, Gill has yet to score a half-century in any of these regions.
