gill-makes-the-cut-becomes-india-s-fourth-youngest-test-captain

Batting star Shubman Gill has been entrusted with India’s Test leadership to steer through a “massive transition” phase. The swashbuckling Rishabh Pant has been appointed as his deputy for next month’s tour of England, which is expected to be nothing short of a trial by fire.

 

At 25 years of age, Gill will be India’s fourth youngest Test captain after Sachin Tendulkar (23), Kapil Dev (24) and Ravi Shastri (25). The five-match series against England will begin on June 20 in Leeds.

 

 

 

“Last year or so, we had considered Shubman for leadership. We are hopeful he is the guy who takes the team forward. It is a high-pressure job, but he is a terrific player. We wish him all the best,” said chief selector Ajit Agarkar after announcing the squad, which offered no major surprises.

 

“Pant is one of our best batsmen in Test cricket over the last four-five years. A wicketkeeper can see the game well and that’s why he is Shubman’s deputy,” Agarkar added, while explaining 27-year-old Pant's role. The selectors’ decision on the team’s leadership was on expected lines following the retirement of senior stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both of whom called it quits within a week of each other earlier this month.

 

Young left-hander B Sai Sudharsan and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh earned their maiden Test call-up. “Sai has not been picked based on IPL. He has shown the right temperament and has the potential to succeed at the top level...we have been looking at him for a while,” Agarkar said, referring to Sudharsan’s fine IPL form.

 

 

Persistent Nair in, unfit Shami out

 

The squad also features Karun Nair, who returns to the national squad after eight years. Having last played in 2017, Nair was dropped from the team soon after becoming the second triple centurion in Tests from India.

 

A notable exclusion was pacer Mohammed Shami, who was deemed not fit enough for the long series. “His workload is not where it needs to be. We were hoping he would be available, but it is unfortunate that he is not fully fit at the moment,” Agarkar said at a press conference.

 

Besides Gill, Bumrah was another strong contender for captaincy, but the selectors decided to hand over the leadership responsibility to the 25-year-old batsman from Punjab. Gill’s talent is undisputed, but he is yet to prove himself in Test cricket, especially in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia.

 

India’s Squad for Test tour of England: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Redddy, Ravindra Kadeja, Dhurv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav.