In a significant leadership transition, Shubman Gill has been appointed the new captain of the Indian Test team, succeeding Rohit Sharma, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Saturday (May 24).

This move marks the beginning of a new chapter in India's red-ball cricket setup, following the back-to-back retirements of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Test cricket earlier this month.

Rishabh Pant has been named vice-captain and will begin his new role alongside Gill during India’s upcoming five-match Test series in England.

The series begins on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds, and concludes with the final Test at The Oval, London, on August 4.

The decision to hand Gill the captaincy was finalized by the senior selection committee led by former all-rounder Ajit Agarkar. At just 25, Gill has emerged as the committee’s choice to lead a relatively young Indian side into the next phase of Test cricket. While Jasprit Bumrah was initially considered due to his leadership experience — having led India to a memorable Test win in Australia and captained two other matches — his workload management has ruled him out of playing all five Tests in England, thereby excluding him from a permanent leadership role on this tour.

India’s full squad for the England tour features a blend of experienced names and promising talents.

Alongside Gill and Pant, the squad includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, and Nitish Reddy in the batting lineup.

The all-round department is bolstered by Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Shardul Thakur, while the wicketkeeping responsibilities will be shared by Pant and Dhruv Jurel.

The pace attack will be led by Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh, with Kuldeep Yadav providing the spin option.

This leadership change signals a clear shift toward building a future-ready Test squad as India looks to maintain its stature in the format after the departure of two of its iconic players.