Indian board announces new Test cricket captain

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially appointed Shubman Gill as the new captain of the Indian Test team for the upcoming five-match Test series against England, marking a generational shift in the squad’s leadership.

According to Indian media reports, the 25-year-old has become the fifth-youngest cricketer to lead India in the Test format. The announcement comes in the wake of Test retirements by stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who both stepped away from red-ball cricket earlier this month.

Gill is set to take charge when the Test series begins on June 20 in England. The leadership change signals a new era for Indian Test cricket, as the young opener prepares to guide the team through a crucial overseas challenge.

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who had previously captained India during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth and Sydney, was not considered for the role this time due to fitness concerns and workload management.

Rishabh Pant has been named vice-captain for the series, continuing his rise after a strong comeback from injury.

The announced squad includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.