By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Shubman Gill has been named the new Test captain for the Indian cricket team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Saturday.
Gill, 25, succeeds Rohit Sharma as captain, who retired from Test cricket earlier this month.
Gill has scored 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 in 32 Tests since making his Test debut against Australia in December 2020.
He now prepares to lead India out when they take on England in a five-Test tour beginning on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds.
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been named as India’s vice-captain while veteran seamer Mohammed Shami is a notable omission due to injury.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said, Gill was one of the leading candidates to replace Rohit as Test skipper having served as Gujarat Titans captain in the IPL and led India in five T20 internationals.
“In franchise cricket, he’s relishing the role,” Agarkar added. “It’s going to be a lot harder but those are the challenges you face playing international cricket.
“He’s been around for two to three years in all formats. He can fall back on that experience.”
Full India squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Druv Jurel , Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.