Shubman Gill (Getty Images)
Shubman Gill has been appointed as India’s 37th Test captain for the upcoming five-match series against England, starting June 20. The selection committee made this decision at the cricket board headquarters at Wankhede Stadium, following the retirement of Rohit Sharma from red-ball cricket and Virat Kohli‘s subsequent departure from the format. Rishabh Pant will serve as vice-captain for the England tour.The squad announcement comes with notable changes as Mohammed Shami has been dropped due to workload concerns. Jasprit Bumrah will be available for only three of the five Tests.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Two players are in line for their Test debuts. Abhimanyu Easwaran, 29, who previously served as a reserve opener during the 2021 England tour, has been included in the squad. Sai Sudharsan, a left-handed batsman from Tamil Nadu who scored a century in his first-class debut three years ago, is also set to earn his first India cap.
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Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar explained the decision to appoint Gill as captain: “You don’t pick captains for one or two tours. You want to invest in something that will help us going forward. You are hoping it’s the right call. You are seeing progress in the last year or two. It is going to be as tough as it gets. Maybe he’ll have to learn on the job. But we are very confident and that is the reason we have picked him.”Agarkar addressed Shami’s exclusion from the squad: “He’s been trying to get fit but he’s had a little bit of setback. He is not able to play five Tests and his workload at the moment isn’t where it should be. If he’s not fit at the moment, we rather plan with guys who are fit and available.”The opening batting positions will be contested between Sudharsan, Easwaran, KL Rahul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, presenting one of Gill’s first major decisions as captain.Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will continue their careers in the 50-over format, despite stepping away from Test cricket.The series begins at Headingley, Leeds (June 20-24), followed by matches at Edgbaston, Birmingham (July 2-6), Lord’s, London (July 10-14), Old Trafford, Manchester (July 23-27), and concludes at The Oval, London (July 31-August 4).India Test squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rishabh Pant (VC/WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akashdeep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.