BCCI and Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has announced the rising Indian superstar Shubman Gill as a new red ball skipper for the England tour 2025. This appointment of Shubman Gill marks a new transition in Team India for the new WTC cycle from 2025 -27.
In what ultimately proved to be a formality, Shubman Gill was named as Rohit Sharma’s successor following a meeting of the selection committee at the cricket board headquarters at Wankhede Stadium. Shubman Gill will be India’s 37th Test captain. His deputy for the England tour will be Rishabh Pant.
Shubman Gill’s elevation to Test captaincy marks the beginning of a new era in Indian cricket, coming in the wake of Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format. Alongside Rohit Sharma , who had led India since February 2022, fellow stalwarts Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin have also bid farewell to Tests since the start of India’s last Test series.
At 25 years and 258 days, Shubman Gill becomes the fifth-youngest cricketer to captain 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).
Team India for England tour 2025 under Shubman Gill
Taking from where Rohit Sharma left following his recent retirement announcement from India’s test cricket, the Men in White will now be led by Shubman Gill. BCCI named the 25-year-old young talent as India’s new Test cricket captain. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been selected as vice-captain for the upcoming five-match Test series against England.
The announcement, made on Saturday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, marks a significant new chapter in Indian cricket. Shubman Gill becomes one of the youngest players to lead the Test side, with selectors expressing strong faith in his temperament and leadership potential.
“Last year or so, we have looked at Shubman for leadership. We are hopeful he is the guy to take the team forward. It is a high-pressure job but he is a terrific player,” said chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Ajit Agarkar clarified that Jasprit Bumrah, who has led India in Tests before, was not considered for captaincy as he is unlikely to play all five matches in England due to workload management. India’s 18-member squad for the England tour includes maiden Test call-ups for Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh alongside recalls for Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami, Sarfaraz Khan, Harshit Rana and Devdutt Padikkal don’t find a place.
Agarkar did not confirm where Shubman Gill would bat, but India have included players like Karun Nair — who last played a Test in 2017 and makes the cut on the back of a prolific domestic season — and the uncapped Sudharsan, both of whom are capable of slotting in at No. 3 or No. 4. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal remain the incumbent openers, with Abhimanyu Easwaran named as the reserve. Padikkal, who batted at No. 3 during the Perth Test earlier this year, has been left out since he is recovering from an injury.
There is also a recall for Shardul Thakur, whose all-round capabilities are expected to be valuable in English conditions. He joins a group of all-rounders that includes Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar. Kuldeep Yadav, who was unfit for the Australia tour, returns as the lone frontline spinner.
Regarding fast bowling department India will miss the services of veteran Mohammed Shami. Ajit Agarkar revealed that Shami was not considered for selection following advice from the medical team, which deemed him unfit to endure the rigours of Test bowling at this stage
Arshdeep Singh, a regular in India’s white-ball squads, has earned a Test call-up and will bolster a pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah and also featuring Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep. Harshit Rana, who featured in two Tests in Australia, was not included. Dhruv Jurel is the back-up keeper in the squad.
India Test squad for England : Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (VC, WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh
Interestingly, the upcoming series will be the start of the new World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27, and both sides will be hoping for a good start to the new cycle. Ahead of the first test at Headingly Leeds, Indian skipper Shubman Gill has expressed his special bonding with the Indian teammates and the camadarie they share ahead of the series.
Shubman Gill reflects on bonding & camaraderie in team
Team India’s newly-appointed Test captain Shubman Gill believes off-field relationships with players help massively in establishing control on-field as well ahead of the series against England. The 25-year-old cited Mohammed Siraj’s example of how they started their international careers almost together.
Although Siraj had made his T20I debut in 2017, he had to wait until 2019 for his first ODI and played his maiden Test the very next year. Gill and Siraj notably made their first Test appearances in Melbourne against Australia in 2020 and provided notable contributions to India’s victory. They also played together in IPL 2025 for the Gujarat Titans.
When asked by Dinesh Karthik on Sky Sports, how his off-field relationships help him on the field as well, the Punjab-born cricketer claimed:
“It helps massively. With Siraj, we made we made our Test debut together. We made, we almost made our one day debut together, he made one match prior to mine.
We played so many matches of India together, so having that bond with him and knowing what he’s capable of and like I said keep making or keeping a secure environment and making the player feel secure in his abilities his capabilities I feel is one of the most important things that a leader has to do. Having these kind of relationships I think help a lot.”
With Rohit Sharma retiring from the format, Shubman Gill has been handed over the responsibility of captaining the side. The youngster has played only three Tests in England, scoring 88 runs in those at 14.67. Shubman Gill was also asked by Dinesh Karthik on what he expects from senior players like KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. In response, Gill said he doesn’t have anything specific but claimed to rely on their experience of what works in English conditions:
“From players like KL Rahul, Jaddu bhai and Boom bhai like I honestly don’t really have any kind of set expectations from them.
“They have come here they have all played more than maybe 10-15 test matches in England and they know what can or cannot be done here and they are sharing their experience of you know how you can win test matches in England. The first time I think KL bhai came or Boom bhai came in 2018, even that Test series was much closer than what it looked like on paper.”
India will play five Tests in England from June 20 to August 4. The first Test will be played at Headingley in Leeds, while the series will conclude with a match at the Kennington Oval in London. Before the start of the Test series, the visitors will also feature in a four-day warm-up match at Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham from June 13 to June 16.
In ODIs and T20Is India still top the ICC rankings, led by captains who are 38 and 34 respectively. With the next WTC final still two years away, a lot rests on the unburdened shoulders of Shubman Gill, who will be only 27 by the time the next cycle ends.
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