London : India's newly crowned Test captain, Shubman Gill's photoshoot, took centre stage as the modern-day giants continue to bolster their preparations for the five high-stakes Tests in England, marking the commencement of a new dawn.
After batting wizards Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bid adieu to Test cricket last month, India was left short on experience. With India bereft of its torchbearers, the management turned to youngsters to mark the beginning of a new era. After their decision, the captaincy baton was passed from Rohit to Gill. "Folks - your Test captain, Shubman Gill," BCCI wrote on X while sharing a few pictures of the 25-year-old.
Since arriving in England last week, Gill has been putting in the hard yards. He has faced the searing pace of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. Arshdeep Singh, one of the members of India's fast bowling quartet, was quick to note that the Test captain appeared to be in "good touch".
Days after his appointment, Gill revealed that he is "overwhelmed" by the emotions and said in a video posted by the BCCI, "As a young kid, when anyone starts playing cricket, they want to play for India, and not just play for India, but play test cricket for India for a very long time. To be able to get this opportunity is a great honour. And like you said, it is a big responsibility."
The five-test tour of England, starting June 20 at Leeds and lasting until August 2025. With India lining up without its batting bigwigs Rohit and Virat following their retirement from the game's longest format, the onus lies on the Shubman-led revamped side to prove itself away from home in testing and gruelling English conditions.
The series will be held from June to August 2025, with matches scheduled at Headingley in Leeds, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord's and The Oval in London, and Old Trafford in Manchester.
India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), 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, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.