India-England Test squad: Shubman Gill appointed skipper; Rishabh Pant vice-captain

Young opener Shubman Gill was appointed captain of the Indian Test team and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant named his deputy as India announced its squad for the five-match away series against England.

 

With veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from the longer format earlier this month, all eyes were on who will replace Sharma as the next Test skipper. Though the names of ace batter KL Rahul and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah were doing the rounds, the selectors have entrusted the reins of the team in young hands in appointing Gill and Pant.

 

"Last year or so we have looked at Shubman (for leadership). We are hopeful he is the guy who is going (to take the team forward),” said chief selector Ajit Agarkar after announcing the squad. “It is a high pressure job but he is a terrific player. We wish him all the best."

 

Young left-hander B. Sai Sudharsan earned his maiden Test call-up. Karun Nair was another notable but expected inclusion, returning to the national team after seven years.

 

Mohammed Shami, who was deemed not fit enough for the long series, was excluded. "His workload is not where it needs to be. We were hoping he will be available but it is unfortunate. At the moment he is not dully fit,” Agarkar said at the press conference.

 

Harshit Rana and Sarfaraz Khan were the exclusions from the Indian squad for the tour of Australia earlier this year.

 

India squad for England Test series:

 

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

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