Shubman front-runner to succeed Rohit, says Moeen

The absence of Indian batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the Test series in England will give a “massive boost” to the hosts, said former England all-rounder Moeen Ali, adding that Shubman Gill would be the likely choice to lead the side for the five-match tour commencing next month. The series will begin with the opening Test scheduled at Headingley from June 20.

“I think it’s a massive boost for England. Two top players who’ve been to England a few times on tour, so they have the experience. The character they have, the leaders they (are), both of them have captained India in Tests, so yeah a massive loss for the team,” Ali, who retired from international cricket last year, said.

Ali, who played 68 Tests scoring more than 3,000 runs and taking 200-plus wickets with his off-spin, said that Gill would be a “very good” choice to lead India despite his inexperience of captaining India in the longest format.

“I think it will be Gill. Ideally they (BCCI) would want Jasprit Bumrah to captain because he is a good captain, a good leader who has done it before. But because of his injury record he might not be able to last the whole series, I think they’ll give it (captaincy) to somebody who’s done decently so far in Test cricket. Gill leads Gujarat Titans in IPL, so they’ve still got a good captain, inexperienced yes but a good brain, but it’ll be a challenge (in England conditions),” Ali said.