Indian cricket has seen some dramatic developments in the last few weeks. With the five-match Test series against England approaching, captain Rohit Sharma first announced his retirement from the Test format. Then there was speculation about who could be the new captain. In the meantime, Virat Kohli surprised everyone and said goodbye to Tests. This has led to various arguments and arguments. After all these incidents, the BCCI has finally announced the name of the new Test captain.
Shubman Gill was the frontrunner in the race to become the potential captain from the beginning. His name was included in the official announcement. Gill’s captaincy will begin with the Test series against England starting from June 20. This will be Gill’s first full-time leadership of the national team. Rishabh Pant has been made India’s vice-captain in Tests. Before that, Rohit and Jasprit Bumrah were the captains of India until the last Border-Gavaskar series.
India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar held a press conference at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai today (Saturday) to announce Gill’s captaincy in this elite format and the Test squad. At that time, he said, “Every option at hand has been discussed. We have been keeping an eye on Shubman Gill for the last one year. At the same time, we have also received feedback from the dressing room. Finally, we hope that the right person has been chosen.”
India had been looking to hand over the Test captaincy to someone with long-term potential. The former Indian pacer and selector said the same this time, “You can’t just pick a captain for one or two tours. We have seen some improvement in Gill in the last one or two years. The five-match Test series in England is going to be tough, maybe he will learn some things there. But we are confident. This is a new cycle (of the World Test Championship), where you have to start fresh. So it is a big opportunity for someone.”
After Mansoor Ali Khan, 25-year-old Shubman Gill is set to become India’s youngest Test captain. He is the second youngest overall for India. “Everyone goes to England to test themselves, the same goes for Australia. We are hopeful that he (Gill) will do well there. After Rohit and Virat (Kohli), this is a big transition moment for us. This is a new cycle, where experience can help. I know it will be tough, but it won’t be a big issue as Gill is aware of his batting performance,” Agarkar said.
