File photo of Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill© AFP
Shubman Gill, according to several reports, is the front-runner to succeed the now-retired Rohit Sharma as the nest Indian cricket team Test captain. Rohit Sharma, under whom India entered the previous World Test Championship final in 2023, announced his retirement on May 7. Since then there have been intense speculation on India’s next Test captain. Most reports have claimed that Shubman Gill will succeed Rohit Sharma ahead of the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. The new captain will take over from India’s Tour of England starting on June 20.
A report in Times of India has now claimed that Gill recently met India coach Gautam Gambhir at his residence in Delhi and spoke for four to five hours. It also said that BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar met Gill on May 6 after an IPL 2025 match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The BCCI is looking at Shubman Gill as an long-term captaincy option. “He has shown impressive leadership qualities in the way he has led GT, who are currently topping the table this season,” the report quoted a BCCI source as saying. With a new WTC cycle starting from the England Tour, the BCCI is keen to build a team around him.
Shubman Gill might be frontrunner for succeeding Rohit Sharma as India’s Test skipper during the tour to England, but former spinner R Ashwin said other experienced names such as Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja should also be considered for the hot seat.
The Indian squad for the tour of England could be picked up in the final week of May, and the run-up to the selection process is dominated by the talks around the possible new captain.
“First of all, everyone is saying that Gill is the captain. Everyone is going in that direction. But there is a loud option in Jasprit Bumrah, and why do we forget about Ravindra Jadeja,” Ashwin said during a chat with former Tamil Nadu opener Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan in his YouTube channel.
“If you are willing to go for a new person as captain, I would say why not make him an understudy of an experienced guy for two years before handing him the job on a full-time basis.” After the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit from Tests, Jadeja is the most experienced player in the Indian side with 3370 runs from 80 Tests and he also has 323 wickets.
With PTI inputs
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