The Indian cricket team is set to play a five-match Test series against England from 20 June to 4 August 2025. However, ahead of this crucial tour, Team India has received a major shock — Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have announced his retirement from Test cricket. Rohit, who was leading the Indian Test side, has now left the captaincy spot vacant, prompting the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to appoint a new leader.
Before Rohit’s official retirement announcement, media reports claimed that selectors had already informed him of their decision to remove him from captaincy, which might have led to his decision to retire. Following his departure, Shubman Gill is considered the frontrunner for the Test captaincy.
While no official confirmation has been made yet, a recent update by Cricbuzz suggests that the selectors’ meeting to pick the squad for the England tour is scheduled for 23 May. Although the venue of the meeting is yet to be disclosed, BCCI is reportedly planning a press conference to introduce the new Test captain.
Meanwhile, the India A squad for the England tour is also expected to be announced in the coming days.
Shubman Gill Leading the Race for Captaincy
With Rohit Sharma retiring, Shubman Gill has emerged as the leading candidate to become India’s new Test captain. The England series is likely to be his first assignment as a full-time skipper. The five-match series will begin on 20 June at Headingley.
Gill’s appointment as captain seems nearly certain, especially with Jasprit Bumrah likely to miss a few matches in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) cycle due to workload management. Bumrah was India’s vice-captain during the Australia tour and had led the team in two Tests in Rohit’s absence.
India’s squad for the England tour will probably be announced later this month. As the series marks the beginning of the new WTC cycle for India, the selectors are expected to take a long-term view while choosing the new captain. This makes 25-year-old Shubman Gill the ideal candidate.
Bumrah, though India’s pace spearhead across formats, has been managing a recurring back issue. Due to this, he missed the Champions Trophy and the initial matches of IPL 2025, and his workload is likely to be managed in future assignments as well.
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Captaincy Experience of Other Players
Among players from India’s last Test in Sydney, KL Rahul has led India in three Tests, while Virat Kohli captained the team for a long period before Rohit. Gill has never captained in Tests or ODIs but has led the side in five T20Is — all during the Zimbabwe tour in 2024, when senior players were rested after winning the T20 World Cup. He is also the current vice-captain of India’s ODI team.
Gill has been groomed for a leadership role over the past few months. He captained Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2024 season after Hardik Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians. Although GT didn’t perform very well overall, they were still among the stronger teams under Gill’s leadership.
Since making his Test debut in Melbourne in December 2020, Shubman Gill has become a regular member of the Indian Test team. So far, he has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05, including 5 centuries and 7 half-centuries.