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A young Test team, led by Shubman Gill, will face England in a five-match Test series starting June 20.
Rishabh Pant (left) will be the vice-captain in India Test squad led by Shubman Gill. (PTI Photo)
India’s England tour from June 20 will not only be the beginning of the next ICC World Test Championship cycle but also of a new era. After the Test retirement of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the Indian team has named a young captain in Shubman Gill for what promises to be a tough five-match series. The touring squad comprises newbies in Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh and on paper appears quite inexperienced even though the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj among others have played in England before.
Questions were raised over the appointment of Gill as Test captain ahead of the likes of Bumrah, Rahul and Pant but the selection committee as picked top-order batter as a long-term option.
South Africa legend AB de Villiers feels that in Indian cricket, the time has come for the younger generation to take over and he feels that a lot of these guys have the maturity to play international cricket thanks to the IPL experience.
“It is time for the younger guys to step up so Shubman Gill taking on the responsibility,” Gill told reporters in Mumbai on Saturday. “There is a lot of talent in India and largely the credit goes to IPL for that. It’s giving great exposure to some of the youngsters at a very early age. We saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi this year. Many other youngsters…(Ayush) Mhatre. Too many to mention. They come in early, look very mature and ready to play cricket. It’s a great platform for Indian cricket.”
De Villiers reckons that the young guns have the potential to do something special in England.
“They’re going to take some responsibility on the England tour. It will be a tough test but they have all the talent in the world. If they believe, maybe they can achieve something special,” he said.
A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
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