{"id":8369,"date":"2025-05-24T15:04:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T15:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=8369"},"modified":"2025-05-24T15:04:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T15:04:50","slug":"shubman-gill-appointed-indias-test-captain-to-lead-in-england-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=8369","title":{"rendered":"Shubman Gill appointed India\u2019s Test captain, to lead in England series"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>India has appointed top-order batsman Shubman Gill as the new Test captain, the cricket board announced on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>The 25-year-old replaces Rohit Sharma, who recently retired from Test cricket along with Virat Kohli. Gill will lead the team in a five-match Test series against England starting June 20.<\/p>\n<p>This marks a transitional phase for Team India following the departure of Rohit, 38, and Kohli, 36, from the five-day format earlier this month. \u201cShubman Gill-led #TeamIndia are READY for an action-packed Test series,\u201d the BCCI said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Read more:\u00a0Indian captain Rohit Sharma retires from Test cricket<\/p>\n<p>Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been named vice-captain. However, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami has been left out of the 18-member squad due to fitness concerns, chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed. Jasprit Bumrah is included but will be rotated across the series to manage his workload.<\/p>\n<p>Gill, known for his elegant stroke play, currently captains the Gujarat Titans in the IPL and led them into the playoffs this season. Since making his Test debut in 2020 at Melbourne, he has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05, including five centuries.<\/p>\n<p>A key figure in both Test and ODI formats, Gill also played a vital role in India\u2019s 50-over Champions Trophy win in Dubai earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>Rohit, Kohli retirement &#8216;personal decisions&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, chief selector Ajit Agarkar described the recent Test retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as personal decisions that have now opened up new opportunities in Indian cricket.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen players of that calibre retire, there will always be big shoes to fill,\u201d Agarkar said. \u201cThose three are stalwarts of Indian cricket. It\u2019s never easy. But the way to look at it is as an opportunity for others. They\u2019ve left behind a remarkable legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Agarkar revealed that Kohli had reached out in early April to inform the board of his decision. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen him give 200 percent to every ball he plays,\u201d Agarkar said. \u201cIf he feels he can\u2019t maintain the high standards he\u2019s set for himself, perhaps it was the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more:\u00a0Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket<\/p>\n<p>Kohli, like Rohit, announced his retirement via Instagram. Media speculation followed, with some reports suggesting the decision may have been influenced by the Indian team management. However, Agarkar dismissed such rumors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKohli is one of the best batters of his generation, a hero to millions, and a global sporting icon,\u201d he said. The former captain scored 9,230 runs in 123 Test matches at an average of 46.85.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why I believe we must respect the decisions of players like him,\u201d Agarkar added. \u201cSpeculating too much isn\u2019t helpful. Even when you\u2019re selecting or dropping someone, you don\u2019t ask them to retire.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India has appointed top-order batsman Shubman Gill as the new Test captain, the cricket board announced on Saturday. The 25-year-old replaces Rohit Sharma, who recently retired from Test cricket along with Virat Kohli. Gill will lead the team in a five-match Test series against England starting June 20. This marks a transitional phase for Team [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}