New Delhi: The wait is finally over. Team India has a new Test captain – Shubman Gill. 25-year-old, Red-Ball will capture leadership when India will start their five-observant tour of England on 20 June at Headingley, Leeds. Gill led the adjacent, dynamic Rishabh Pant with his deputy.At the age of 25, Gill became the fifth youngest Test captain in India, which follows Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (21), Sachin Tendulkar (23), Kapil Dev (24), and Ravi Shastri (25).Go beyond the border with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!As is often accompanied by the selection of the team, the announcement of the chief selector Ajit Aggarkar brought a mixture of elation and despair.While Young Left-Hander B Sai Sudarson and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh earned their first Test call-up, the squad also marked the return of Karun Nair in the National Setup after eight years.
The remarkable lapse featured veteran Pesar Mohammed Shami, who was considered unqualified for the five -match series. Harshit Rana and Sarfaraz Khan, who were part of the Australia tour, were also left.There are five burning questions after the selection of India’s squad for England’s tests.
18-The boycott of Shreyas Iyer has been the greatest surprise among the second squad. Despite an impressive run in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season-scoring an average of 480 runs on an average of 68.57 in innings-and playing an important role in India’s champion trophy-winning campaign, Iyer’s omissions have raised many eyebrows. In the challenging circumstances of England, a proven match-winner, leader, tight fielder, and a possible game-changer, Iyer was not even considered for a team for India.Iyer last played a Test against England in Visakhapatnam in 2024.In the ongoing IPL 2025 season, Iyer also led Punjab Kings in the first playoffs in eleven years, showing strong looks and leadership.When asked about his lapse, Chief selector Ajit Aggarkar said that there is no place for him in the test setup at this time. “Shres had a good series of a day, as well as well played in domestic, but there is no place in Test cricket right now.”There is another notable absent Sarfaraz Khan from the squad. Once seen as a promising possibility for the future of India’s red ball, his lapse from the back-to-back test series is now a major talk. Sarfaraz, who made a strong mark with back-to-back fifty on debut against England in 2024 in Rajkot, also scored 150 runs in India’s first Test against New Zealand last year. However, he was left for the post -Australia tour and once again left out of the team for the upcoming England series.What went wrong for Sarfaraz after the New Zealand series remained unclear.He said, Sarfaraz has been included in a squad for the series against England Lions in India.Chief selector Agrakar supported Karun Nair on Sarfaraz, which cited Nair’s consistent domestic form, the reason for his inclusion.“Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know that he got 100 in the first Test and then did not get runs. Sometimes it is decided that the team takes the management.
When the young pacer was included in the test side for the series below, their selection was called a ‘bold move’. Harshit Rana made an impressive start for his test career in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with four wickets in his debut. However, he struggled to maintain that effect in the later stages of the series.India is now ready to visit England with India, except Rana, selected to Akash Deep, Shardul Thakur and Arshdeep Singh, preferred bowlers friendly to swing-friendly circumstances.Captain and team management will definitely face a major headache, finalizing XI who plays for initial testing. Who will open the innings for India – this is a major question. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Ishvaran, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair and KL Rahul are among the current options.However, along with the retirement of two stalls-Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, India’s batting line-up is scheduled for a significant reshuffle. Undoubtedly, under the leadership of Gill, the team is on the verge of “massive transition”.
Will Gill open the innings? Or will he bat at number 4? If Shubman Gill changes in number 4, it can mark a significant change in their career trajectory. Along with several contenders for the initial slot, the selector Gill can return to Virat Kohli’s shoes – Cruceal Number 4 in the position, where Kohli anchored the innings for years.“Last year either we have seen Shubman (for leadership). We hope that he is the man who is going to take the team.Shubman Gill (Captain), Rishabh Pant (Vice-Qetan), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kel Rahul, Sai Sudhasarsan, Abhimanyu Ishwar, Karun Nair, Nair, Nitish Ready, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhurav Jurael, Washington Sundara, Jaspaton Sundar, Jasptul Thrad, Jajplu. Deep, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav.
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