Shubman Gill Appointed as India's New Test Captain with Rishabh Pant as Vice-Captain

New Leadership for Indian Test Team

On Saturday, Shubman Gill was officially named the new Test captain of India, with Rishabh Pant stepping in as his vice-captain. This leadership change will take effect during the upcoming five-match series in England.

The selectors' decision aligns with the anticipated transition following the retirements of prominent players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. In a notable move, young left-handed batsman B Sai Sudharsan has received his first Test call-up.

The squad also includes Karun Nair, who makes a return to the national team after a seven-year hiatus. However, pacer Mohammed Shami has been left out due to fitness concerns, as he was not deemed fit enough for the lengthy series.

"We have been considering Shubman for leadership over the past year. We believe he is capable of leading the team forward. It’s a challenging role, but he is an exceptional player. We wish him the best of luck," stated chief selector Ajit Agarkar during the squad announcement.

Regarding Shami, Agarkar mentioned, "His current workload is not up to the required standards. We had hoped he would be available, but unfortunately, he is not fully fit. Harshit Rana and Sarfaraz Khan have also been dropped from the squad since the Australia tour.

Squad:

Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, K L Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhurv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.