Marking the start of a new era in Indian Test cricket, the BCCI’s senior selection committee on Saturday unveiled Shubman Gill as the new captain while announcing the 18-member squad for the upcoming five-Test series in England, slated to begin on June 20.

Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been named his deputy, ahead of premier quick Jasprit Bumrah, who was India’s vice-captain at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and led in the two Tests former skipper Rohit Sharma had missed.

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The Statesman had on Friday reported that the 25-year-old was the front-runner to the top job that emerged after the recent retirement of Rohit Sharma from the longest format. Announcing the squad, selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar said the decision to appoint Gill was after discussing every option at their disposal.

“You discuss every option that’s there. Over the last year, we’ve looked at Shubman. We’ve taken feedback from the dressing room as well. And we’re hopeful we’ve picked the right guy,” Agarkar said in a press conference at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai shortly after the selection meeting on Saturday when asked about the decision to choose Gill.

Exuding confidence on their selection of skipper, Agarkar emphasised that the elegant Punjab right-hander was appointed with a long-term vision in mind.

“You don’t pick captains for one or two tours,” Agarkar said when asked about the future, especially keeping in mind the upcoming WTC cycle. “We’ve seen some progress [in Gill] over the last year or two. It is going to be as tough as it gets for five Tests in England; maybe he’ll have to learn on the job. But we’re very confident.”

Gill’s elevation to captaincy signals the dawn of a new era in Indian cricket. He will assume leadership of a youthful Indian side following the retirements of Ravichandran Ashwin last December and, more recently, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, bringing to a close a storied era in the nation’s Test cricket legacy.

At 25 years and 258 days, Shubman Gill becomes the fifth-youngest player to lead India in Test cricket, following in the footsteps of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (21 years, 77 days), Sachin Tendulkar (23 years, 169 days), Kapil Dev (24 years, 48 days) and Ravi Shastri (25 years, 229 days).

While Agarkar’s words give a sense of confidence in Gill’s leadership qualities, the star batter, however, has never led India in Tests or ODIs previously. He has led the team in five T20Is, all on a tour of Zimbabwe in mid-2024 when he was named captain of a side that missed several first-choice players following India’s victory in the preceding T20 World Cup.

Having made his Test debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on India’s previous tour of Australia in 2020-21, Gill has so far featured in 32 Tests, notching up 1893 runs at an average of 35.05. In all his 32 Tests, Gill has so far played as a top-order batter, initially starting off as an opener before being handed the No.3 spot.

However, the recent retirement of Kohli, has opened up the crucial No.4 spot in the batting order, and it could be the first time that the newly-appointed captain might take the place while accommodating another fresh face at the one-down position.

Agarkar did not confirm where Gill would bat, but India have included players like Karun Nair, who last played a Test in 2017 and makes the cut on the back of a prolific domestic season and the uncapped Sai Sudharsan, both of whom are capable of slotting in at No. 3 or No. 4.

The rest of the batting order presents a familiar look, with KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal remaining the incumbent openers, with Abhimanyu Easwaran named as the reserve. Devdutt Padikkal, who batted at No. 3 during the Perth Test earlier this year, has been left out due to an injury.

Shami left out, Arshdeep makes cut

Among notable absentees, pacer Mohammed Shami is not a part of the India setup. Agarkar revealed that Shami has been left out of the squad following advice from the medical team, which deemed him unfit to endure the rigours of Test bowling at this stage.

Shami’s exclusion opens the door for left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, a regular in India’s white-ball squads. Singh’s inclusion will bolster a pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah and also featuring Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep. Harshit Rana, who featured in two Tests in Australia, was not included.

“He’s a quality bowler and has had a taste of County (cricket) as well. A tall guy, who can bowl with the new ball, has a body of work in red-ball cricket and in recent form in the last couple of years,” said Agarkar of Arshdeep’s skills.

The selectors also recalled Shardul Thakur, whose all-round capabilities are expected to be valuable in English conditions. He joins a group of all-rounders that includes Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar. Kuldeep Yadav, who was unfit for the Australia tour, returns as the lone frontline spinner.

The five Tests against England will be India’s first in the 2025-27 WTC cycle. They play the first Test at Headingley (from June 20), the second at Edgbaston (from July 2), the third at Lord’s (from July 10), the fourth at Old Trafford (from July 23), and the final at The Oval (from July 31).

They begin the tour with a four-day match against India A at Beckenham on the outskirts of London between June 13 and 16.

India Test squad for England

Shubman Gill (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh