Shubman Gill has been appointed India's newest Test captain, replacing the just-retired Rohit Sharma and will kickstart his tenure with the five-match series against England starting June 20 at Leeds. The announcement was made official on Saturday, when the 15-member squad was picked for the upcoming tour. With this, Gill, 25, becomes the 37th cricketer to captain India in Test cricket. It also means that for the first time ever, Indian cricket has three captains – Gill in Tests, Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is and Rohit in ODIs.
Gill's elevation does not come as a surprise; it does, however, bring to the fore some justified questions: Is Gill the best candidate the selectors had? For the longest time, Jasprit Bumrah was believed to be Rohit's successor, but his back injury in Australia shelved those plans. Rishabh Pant, who has established his mettle with the bat overseas, was another name, but the BCCI and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar felt that Pant is best suited as Gill's deputy. Gill's appointment as India's full-time Test captain sets him apart from Rahul and Bumrah, who took on the role only as temporary stand-ins.
Gill has struggled batting away from India, especially SENA nations. Although he boasts a decent record in Tests – 1893 runs from 32 matches at an average of just over 35 – the fact that only 649 of those have come away from home is concerning. His highest of 110 was against Bangladesh in 2022, and the next-best of 91 came back in 2021 at the Gabba.
From CY Nayudu to Shubman Gill, check full list of India's Test captains
Nonetheless, Gill joins a prestigious list of captains who have led India. From their first-ever Test skipper, CK Nayudu, in 1932 against England, to the most successful, Virat Kohli, Gill has some elite company, including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Rohit and more. From the lot, Kohli, of course, remains India's most successful Test skipper with 40 wins from 68 matches, followed by Dhoni's 21. Ganguly isn't far behind at 21. Here's a look at the players who have captained India over its 589-Test history.
| Full list of India’s men’s Test captains | ||||||
| No. | Captain | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn/Tied | Win percentage |
| 1 | C K Nayudu | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Maharajkumar of Vizianagram | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Lala Amarnath | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 13.33 |
| 5 | Vijay Hazare | 14 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7.14 |
| 6 | Vinoo Mankad | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | Ghulam Ahmed | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | Polly Umrigar | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 25 |
| 9 | Hemu Adhikari | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Datta Gaekwad | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Pankaj Roy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Gulabrai Ramchand | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| 13 | Nari Contractor | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 16.67 |
| 14 | Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi | 40 | 9 | 19 | 12 | 22.5 |
| 15 | Chandu Borde | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Ajit Wadekar | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 25 |
| 17 | Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Sunil Gavaskar | 47 | 9 | 8 | 30 | 19.14 |
| 19 | Bishan Singh Bedi | 22 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 27.27 |
| 20 | Gundappa Viswanath | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Kapil Dev | 34 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 11.76 |
| 22 | Dilip Vengsarkar | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 20 |
| 23 | Ravi Shastri | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| 24 | Krishnamachari Srikkanth | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | Mohammad Azharuddin | 47 | 14 | 14 | 19 | 29.79 |
| 26 | Sachin Tendulkar | 25 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 16 |
| 27 | Sourav Ganguly | 49 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 42.86 |
| 28 | Rahul Dravid | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 32 |
| 29 | Virender Sehwag | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| 30 | Anil Kumble | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 21.42 |
| 31 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | 60 | 27 | 18 | 15 | 45 |
| 32 | Virat Kohli | 68 | 40 | 17 | 11 | 58.82 |
| 33 | Ajinkya Rahane | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 66.67 |
| 34 | KL Rahul | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| 35 | Rohit Sharma | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 50 |
| 36 | Jasprit Bumrah | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33 |
Nonetheless, Gill joins a prestigious list of captains who have led India. From their first-ever Test skipper, CK Nayudu, in 1932 against England, to the most successful, Virat Kohli, Gill has some elite company, including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Rohit and more. From the lot, Kohli, of course, remains India's most successful Test skipper with 40 wins from 68 matches, followed by Dhoni's 21. Ganguly isn't far behind at 21. Here's a look at the players who have captained India over its 589-Test history.
| Full list of India’s men’s Test captains | ||||||
| No. | Captain | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn/Tied | Win percentage |
| 1 | C K Nayudu | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Maharajkumar of Vizianagram | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Lala Amarnath | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 13.33 |
| 5 | Vijay Hazare | 14 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7.14 |
| 6 | Vinoo Mankad | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | Ghulam Ahmed | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | Polly Umrigar | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 25 |
| 9 | Hemu Adhikari | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Datta Gaekwad | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Pankaj Roy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Gulabrai Ramchand | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| 13 | Nari Contractor | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 16.67 |
| 14 | Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi | 40 | 9 | 19 | 12 | 22.5 |
| 15 | Chandu Borde | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Ajit Wadekar | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 25 |
| 17 | Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Sunil Gavaskar | 47 | 9 | 8 | 30 | 19.14 |
| 19 | Bishan Singh Bedi | 22 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 27.27 |
| 20 | Gundappa Viswanath | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Kapil Dev | 34 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 11.76 |
| 22 | Dilip Vengsarkar | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 20 |
| 23 | Ravi Shastri | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| 24 | Krishnamachari Srikkanth | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | Mohammad Azharuddin | 47 | 14 | 14 | 19 | 29.79 |
| 26 | Sachin Tendulkar | 25 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 16 |
| 27 | Sourav Ganguly | 49 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 42.86 |
| 28 | Rahul Dravid | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 32 |
| 29 | Virender Sehwag | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| 30 | Anil Kumble | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 21.42 |
| 31 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | 60 | 27 | 18 | 15 | 45 |
| 32 | Virat Kohli | 68 | 40 | 17 | 11 | 58.82 |
| 33 | Ajinkya Rahane | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 66.67 |
| 34 | KL Rahul | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| 35 | Rohit Sharma | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 50 |
| 36 | Jasprit Bumrah | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33 |
As the table shows, leading India in Test cricket is a formidable challenge, with only a select few captains achieving more than 10 victories. Just five have reached this milestone: Azharuddin, Ganguly, Dhoni, Kohli, and Rohit.
Tendulkar, at 23 years and 169 days, remains India's youngest Test captain. He took over against Australia in the Delhi Test in 1996, which India won comprehensively. The rest of his captaincy tenure, however, tanked, as Tendulkar, arguably the greatest batter of all time, finished with just four wins from 25 Tests. Kapil endured an even worse record as captain, winning four out of 34.