Shubman Gill named new India Test skipper for England tour, Rishabh Pant vice-captain
Rishabh Pant was named wicket-keeper and vice-captain while Karun Nair makes a comeback after seven years.
Indian cricket selectors named Shubman Gill as the new India Test captain, naming him to lead the side for the five-Test series in England starting on June 20. The 25-year-old top-order batter was named in an 18-member squad announced on Saturday.
Gill was seen as the frontrunner, especially considering the fitness issues with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. Rishabh Pant was named wicket-keeper and vice-captain. Uncapped Sai Sudarshan was named in the squad, an expected call like naming Gill as captain.
Karun Nair makes a comeback after seven years, having scored heavily for Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha this season. Left-arm white-ball pacer Arshdeep Singh has also been included in the squad with Mohammed Shami going out of reckoning due to his fitness issues. There was no place for batter Sarfaraz Khan.
“We are sure we have made the right call, he is a terrific player,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said on Gill while naming the squad.
Gill is seen as the captain to steer the side at the start of what Agarkar described as the “big transition”. He said the selectors spoke to Bumrah and the spearhead understood the logic behind the choice of Gill as captain. “We’d rather have Bumrah bowling as well as he does. We’ve had a chat with him,” Agarkar said while confirming that the pacer is unlikely to play in all the Tests to manage his fitness.
India vs England Tests schedule: First Test: Leeds (June 20-24); Second Test: Edgbaston (July 2-6); Third Test: Lord’s July 10-14; Fourth Test: Old Trafford: July 23-27; Fifth Test: The Oval: July 31-Aug 4.
India Test squad for England tour: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper, vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh Kuldeep Yadav.
