Shubman Gill, long Indian cricket’s “Prince” in waiting, has been entrusted with leading a new era as India announced the team for next month’s all-important tour of England.
After the Test retirements of greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, India on Saturday named top-order batsman Gill as its new Test skipper.
The 25-year-old Gill was identified in 2020 as a batting successor to Kohli after impressing on his Test debut in Melbourne, where he opened and made 45 and an unbeaten 35 as India beat Australia by eight wickets.
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Gifted with a wide variety of shots at the top of the order, it has been Gill’s inspiring leadership of Gujarat Titans that clinched his elevation to the Test captaincy to succeed Rohit.
He played a captain’s knock of 93 this week to secure a place in the playoffs for Gujarat, who were IPL champions in their 2022 debut season.
“Obviously, he’s very young but we’ve seen the improvement,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar told reporters after the team announcement in Mumbai.
He said that, as well as Gill’s IPL performances, the board “take feedback from a lot of people” and the choice was a “unanimous decision”.
“It’s obviously going to be a high-pressure job. But we’re hopeful that we’ve picked the right guy. I mean, he’s a terrific player,” Agarkar said.
“It’s a big job, big transition … We were all confident that he is the guy to take us forward.”
Gill will lead a team in transition after Rohit, 38, and Kohli, 36, walked away from the five-day format earlier this month in a space of six days to leave a big void. His vice-captain will be Rishabh Pant.
“I have talked about this a couple of times, when I’m batting, I want to play and think as a batsman, not as a captain. At the back end last season I learnt that,” said Gill, who is in his second season leading Gujarat.
Gill, who has scored 636 runs at an average of 57.81 to lie second on the IPL batting charts, has led from the front and been dubbed “Prince” by pundits in the cricket-obsessed country.
“Let Shubman Gill remain Shubman Gill instead of calling him a ‘Prince’,” said former India wicketkeeper and Gujarat assistant coach Parthiv Patel.
“You gave him this name from the commentary box. He is leading from the front and makes his presence felt in the dressing room.
“He doesn’t talk much, but his words carry a lot of weight.”
Rohit and batting great Kohli’s departures paved the way for Gill to lead a young India squad for five Tests in England beginning on June 20.
Pace bowler Mohammed Shami has been left out of the 18-member squad due to fitness concerns, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said at a news conference.
“He’s had a little bit of a setback over the last week or so,” Agarkar said, adding medical scans had ruled Shami out for the series.
Jasprit Bumrah is in the squad but will not be able to play all five Tests due to his workload management. Bumrah’s workload is being managed while he recovers from a career-threatening back injury — a key reason for him not getting the Test captaincy.
Bumrah was Rohit’s deputy in India’s last Test tour of Australia. Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj returns after he was dropped from the ODI team for the Champions Trophy this year.
Batsman Karun Nair, who hit an unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai in 2016, will make a comeback eight years after he last played a Test for India.
Gill’s opening partner at Gujarat, Sai Sudharsan, who leads the IPL batting chart with 638 runs, also made the cut.
Gill got the captaincy nod but he has big boots to fill.
Rohit won 12 of his 24 Tests as skipper and his predecessor Kohli was India’s most successful Test captain with 40 wins from 68 matches in charge.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had already identified Gill’s leadership credentials and competitive instinct ahead of his appointment, and he urged fans to give him time.
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“It would take a couple of years to get to the level of our ‘super captains’,” said Gavaskar.
“All of them brought something unique to the table.
“When you look at Gill, Iyer, and Pant … you can see a mix of different qualities.
“Gill seems the most competitive. When there’s a close call, he’s quick to question the umpire. He’s very involved in the game.” In 2023, Gill scored a Twenty20 hundred to become the fifth Indian batsman — including Kohli and Rohit — to record centuries across all three formats.
Gill, who hails from a family of farmers in the northern state of Punjab, said he owed much of his success to his father.
“I think the way I practise and the way my dad made me practise … 90 per cent of the credit should go to him because it was his vision,” said Gill.
Gill has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 with five hundreds. But there are question marks over his record outside India. In his 13 overseas Tests, Gill’s average is only 29.50.
The Tests in England will be India’s first in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.
The opener is at Headingley, followed by the second Test at Edgbaston from July 2.
Lord’s hosts the third Test from July 10, with the fourth at Old Trafford beginning July 23 and the final Test at The Oval from July 31.
India squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kl Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, NIR, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jade, Dhruv Jade Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
— AFP