India’s subsequent Test captain: Is Shubman Gill prepared for the large job?-OxBig News Network

The transition interval within the Indian Test staff started two years in the past. Senior execs who as soon as fashioned the spine of the batting line-up have been step by step eased out, and India started experimenting with rookies within the bowling unit.

Yet few would have predicted that on Saturday, 24 May – simply weeks earlier than the much-anticipated England tour – the senior choice committee can be sitting down to decide on not solely a brand new captain, but in addition a substitute for the long-lasting No. 4 spot, lengthy held by one of many sport’s greats. Winter is lastly right here.

India are heading into the following cycle of the World Test Championship with out Virat Kohli, R. Ashwin and Rohit Sharma. Ashwin retired halfway via the Border-Gavaskar Trophy final yr, and in May, Kohli and Rohit each known as time on their Test careers – inside a span of simply 5 days.

India’s Test Squad Announcement For England Live Updates

It was extensively anticipated that Kohli would tour England and information a comparatively inexperienced facet, particularly after Rohit’s exit. But the previous captain shocked many by announcing his retirement from his favourite format. While acknowledging it was a troublesome resolution, Kohli known as it a well timed one.

India have now been fast-tracked right into a transition section as important because the one between 2011 and 2013, when the staff moved previous icons like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

All eyes are actually on head coach Gautam Gambhir and choice committee chief Ajit Agarkar, as they meet on the BCCI headquarters on Saturday to choose the squad for the five-Test sequence in England.

While a number of key questions await solutions, the largest of all of them is: ‘Who will probably be India’s subsequent Test captain?’

In an excellent world, the reply to this query is simple: Jasprit Bumrah. Arguably the world’s finest pacer, Bumrah had expressed his want to guide India in whites, and as soon as he obtained the chance, he proved his price. He stood in for Rohit Sharma in a Test match in 2022 and appeared much more assured and composed when he captained India in two Tests in the course of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Bumrah was aggressive, tactically astute and, extra importantly, appeared to relish the burden of captaincy, willingly placing himself in powerful conditions in Perth and Sydney.

However, an damage in the course of the all-important sequence finale in Sydney derailed India’s push for a series-levelling consequence. Bumrah’s long-standing damage points resurfaced on the worst doable time, elevating recent considerations about his workload and skill to face up to the rigours of a five-match sequence.

Despite his credentials and management potential, the selectors appear hesitant to take what they see as a high-risk option. Will Bumrah final a complete abroad tour? Will he even be required to play all house Tests, the place India have proven they will win with out him?

Then there may be Rishabh Pant, arguably one in every of India’s most interesting Test batters with management expertise. KL Rahul has additionally led India previously.

At this juncture, nonetheless, the selectors are believed to be leaning in direction of Shubman Gill, based on sources.

IS SHUBMAN GILL THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB?

Yes, Gill has been a part of the management group in white-ball codecs. At the Champions Trophy, he was named as Rohit Sharma’s deputy. But has he performed sufficient in Tests to justify elevation to the captaincy?

Gill, 25, made his Test debut in 2020 and has performed 32 matches within the format, averaging 35.05. However, his common drops to under 20 in England and South Africa – two key abroad territories in his still-nascent profession.

To date, Gill has scored 559 runs in 13 matches in SENA international locations and the West Indies, averaging simply 25, with solely two fifties in 24 innings. Since his match-winning 91 within the well-known Brisbane Test in 2021, Gill has but to attain a half-century in any of those areas.

After Yashasvi Jaiswal cemented his place on the prime, Gill was moved to No. 3 and has since struggled to search out his footing – particularly in abroad circumstances.

Would it’s prudent to thrust the duty of captaincy on a participant who remains to be discovering his toes within the longest format?

Former India captain and ex-chief selector Kris Srikkanth, talking to IndiaToday.in earlier in May, warned against putting Gill in the hot seat just yet.

“Loads is being mentioned about Shubman Gill, however he’s but to attain massive runs. In England, Australia, South Africa – he has by no means scored. That means you are thrusting all the things on him. Let Shubman Gill set up himself in Test cricket. He is a king in house circumstances,” he mentioned.

There’s no doubting Gill’s expertise. He is arguably the following massive celebrity of Indian cricket. But is he prepared for Test captaincy – particularly with the stress of a tricky abroad tour like England?

Virat Kohli was 25 when he took over the captaincy from MS Dhoni, however he had spent a few years studying beneath Dhoni earlier than inheriting the hardest job in world cricket.

The selectors are maybe hoping that captaincy will deliver out the most effective in Gill, simply because it did for Kohli. Before taking on as Test captain in the course of the 2014 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli had endured one of many leanest patches of his profession – scoring simply 144 runs in 10 innings throughout that yr’s England tour.

Kohli went on to dominate in Australia, thriving beneath the added stress of captaincy.

Gill has additionally proven indicators of having fun with that stress, albeit within the Indian Premier League. After a tricky maiden season as captain of Gujarat Titans in 2024, he seems to be again at his finest – each as a batter and a pacesetter – in IPL 2025.

It’s the daybreak of a daring new period in Indian cricket. And if Shubman Gill is certainly the chosen one, the staff administration, selectors and followers have to be ready to again him via the highs and the inevitable lows. He will want time – to study, to stumble, to develop. But if Indian cricket is betting on the longer term, it have to be able to trip out the storm that comes earlier than the calm.