BCCI announces India’s squad for England tour; Shubman Gill replaces Rohit Sharma as Test captain

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced India's squad for the upcoming England tour as Shubman Gill has been announced as the new Test captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. The move comes after Rohit’s retirement from the longest format of the game. Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in two Tests in Australia, has been overlooked for the job. It was reported a few weeks back that the BCCI is looking for a captain who can play all the games, considering Bumrah’s recent fitness struggles 

KL Rahul, who is one of the most experienced players in the Indian captain too has been overlooked along with Rishabh Pant. However, Pant has been named as the vice captain of the team. At the age of 25, Shubman Gill is set to become the fourth youngest Test captain of the Indian cricket Team. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi is still the youngest captain followed by Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev. 

Shubman Gill’s first assignment as the new skipper of India’s Test team is the five-match tour of England. This will also be India’s first series as a part of the new World Test Championship cycle. The 25-year-old has been leading Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 and led them to top of the table. 

Rohit Sharma who was named the Test skipper in 2022 announced his retirement from the longest form of the game few days ago. The 38-year-old is set to continue leading the side in the ODI format having already retired from the T20I format. Rohit had a lean time with the bat during the Australian tour where he scored just 31 runs. 

Sai Sudharsan gets maiden Test call-up

BCCI also included Sai Sudharsan in the squad for the England tour. Shubman Gill’s opening partner in GT, Sai Sudharsan is currently the highest-run scorer in IPL 2025. The left-handed batter has been in top form with the bat prompting many experts to call for Sudharsan’s inclusion for the England tour. The 23-year-old has also played county cricket for Surrey and also scored a ton. Sudharsan has played 29 first-class game scoring 1957 runs with seven tons and five fifties and averages 39 with the bat. 

Karun Nair is another player who has made the cut for the tour after an impressive showing in domestic cricket. Nair played a key role in Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy title win earlier in the year. The 33-year-old has also played county cricket and is India’s second triple centurion in Test cricket. 

Here's the full squad:

Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akashdeep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav