Shubman Gill appointed India Test captain, Rishabh Pant as deputy

Shubman Gill wasappointed India’s new Test captain while Rishabh Pant was named his deputy, starting with the five-match series in England

Mumbai: Shubman Gill was on Saturday appointed India’s new Test captain while Rishabh Pant was named his deputy, starting with the five-match series in England.

The selectors’ decision on the team’s leadership was on expected lines following the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Young left-hander B Sai Sudharsan earned his maiden Test call-up.

The squad also features Karun Nair, who returns to the national setup after seven years. A notable exclusion was pacer Mohammed Shami, who was deemed not fit enough for the long series.

“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. It is a high-pressure job, but he is a terrific player. We wish him all the best,” said chief selector Ajit Agarkar after announcing the squad.

On Shami, he added: “His workload is not where it needs to be. We were hoping he would be available, but it is unfortunate. At the moment, he is not fully fit. From tour of Australia, Harshit Rana and Sarfaraz Khan have been dropped.

Squad: Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhurv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep singh and Kuldeep Yadav.