Shubman Gill appointed India Test captain, Pant named his deputy

Shubman Gill was on Saturday appointed India's new Test captain while Rishabh Pant was named his deputy, starting with the five-match series in England.

At 25 years of age, Gill will be India's fifth youngest Test captain after Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (21), Sachin Tendulkar (23), Kapil Dev (24) and Ravi Shastri (25). The five-match series against England will begin on June 20 in Leeds.

Gill, a native of Chak Khere Wala village in Punjab’s Fazilka district, moved to Mohali at a young age and began his cricketing journey with the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) as a teenager.

Pant has been named vice-captain of the 18-member squad ahead of Jasprit Bumrah—who previously served as vice-captain during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and led India in two Tests in Rohit Sharma’s absence.

'Shubh Aarambh': From Fazilka to Leeds, journey of passionate dad and willing son

Shoes are big to fill but an opportunity for others: Agarkar on retirements of Kohli, Rohit

The selectors decision on the team's leadership was on expected lines following the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

“You discuss every option that's there,” said chief selector Ajit Agarkar during a press conference at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday, shortly after the selection meeting, when asked about the decision to appoint Gill.

“Over the last year, we've looked at him (Gill). We've taken feedback from the dressing room as well. And we're hopeful we've picked the right guy.”

“You don’t pick captains for one or two tours,” Agarkar said, when asked about the decision in the context of the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

“We’ve seen some progress over the last year or two. It’s going to be as tough as it gets—five Tests in England. Maybe he’ll have to learn on the job, but we’re very confident.

It's a new cycle and an opportunity to build something. It's someone else's chance now,” he said.

About Pant’s promotion, Agarkar said, “Pant has been one of our best batters over the last couple of years. He will support Gill with his experience. Right now, these two are the players we believe will lead the team forward.”

Meanwhile, young left-hander B Sai Sudharsan and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh earned their maiden Test call-up.

The squad also features Karun Nair, who returns to the national set up after seven years. A notable exclusion was pacer Mohammed Shami, who was deemed not fit enough for the long series.

On Shami, Agarkar added: “His workload is not where it needs to be. We were hoping he will be available but it is unfortunate. At the moment he is not dully fit.”

From tour of Australia, Harshit Rana and Sarfaraz Khan have been dropped.

India's Squad for Test tour of England:

Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, K L Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun nair, Nitish Redddy, Ravindra Kadeja, Dhurv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav. — with PTI