Shubman Gill era has begun in Indian cricket. The 25-year-old star was named the captain of the Indian cricket squad for the Tour of England starting June 20. At 25, Gill has become one of the youngest players to hold the position in recent years. Though he lacks captaincy experience in the red-ball format, he has led India in a five-match T20I assignment in Zimbabwe in 2024. Gill has also been captaining the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gill has also served as vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is. He was Rohit Sharma‘s deputy in India’s victorious Champions Trophy campaign in the UAE in February 2025. In Test cricket, Gill has played 32 matches and scored 1,893 runs, including five centuries.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has called Shubman Gill as India Test captain as a ‘investment of faith’.

“Lots (of challenges) actually in Test cricket. If it were ODI format, we would have said absolutely fine. He is the heir apparent. He is annointed as the vice captain for a significant period of time. So, we saw it coming but when you talk about Test cricket, you’d say he’s still trying to figure out a place for himself, especially outside of the subcontinent. His average is 35. His overseas numbers are around 25, and that’s not very healthy as a batter alone, let alone be the captain of the side,” Chopra told ESPNCricinfo.

“So, I see this as an investment of faith. You see somebody, you see promise and potential. You go with that guy with a lot of hope and some amount of belief that we are making the right choice.”

Former batting coach Sanjay Bangar believes the decisions taken by Ajit Agarkar‘s selection committee will be “vindicated” if the Indian Test side under new skipper Shubman Gill pulls off a series win in England.

In 90 years of Test cricket against England, India have only won away Test series thrice — in 1971, 1986 and 2007.

“If this group of players manages to win a Test series in England, I think that’s going to be a great start for his (Gill’s) leadership tenure,” Bangar told JioHotstar after Gill was announced as new Test skipper.

“The calls that have been taken will be vindicated if the tour goes India’s way. I’m pretty hopeful that this will be a series wherein you win a couple of Test matches, and if the other side falters, you might just end up winning the series as well,” Bangar said.

Bangar also echoed Ajit Agarkar’s sentiment that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah shouldn’t be overburdened.

“First of all, we have to make sure Bumrah doesn’t get overburdened. That is where the team management will have a massive impact by using the bowling line-up picked around him.

“We saw in the Australia series, there were so many all-rounders, and Bumrah was at times overused because the team wanted him to bowl at all times, and it affected his bowling speeds. In one of the Tests, he was down to 120-129.

“To help him play five Test matches, you need a stronger bowling unit operating alongside him. The more matches he plays, the higher the chances (are) of India winning,” Bangar gave his opinion.