Shubman Gill vs Jasprit Bumrah: Who will lead India’s Test side?

Dubai: The countdown has begun to find out who will lead Team India into a new era, led by coach Gautam Gambhir. The Indian cricket board’s senior selection committee is expected to make the announcement in the next few hours, with two frontrunners emerging: Jasprit Bumrah, who served as vice-captain and led India in the final Test against Australia in Sydney after Rohit Sharma stepped down due to poor form, and Shubman Gill, widely seen as the popular long-term choice following the retirements of Rohit and Virat Kohli.

Why Gill has the edge over Bumrah

While Bumrah is undoubtedly India’s premier bowler across all formats, his fitness concerns may work against him. He’s reportedly asked to be considered for only three Tests in the upcoming five-match series against England, which begins on June 20. It was a stress fracture, sustained in the final Test in Sydney, that kept him out for five months and saw him miss the Champions Trophy — a tournament India went on to win in Dubai.

Although several legends have argued that India can rotate players when Bumrah is unavailable, the selectors may prefer a more stable leadership option. A similar reasoning kept Hardik Pandya, Rohit’s T20 vice-captain, from taking over the T20 captaincy — with the baton instead handed to Suryakumar Yadav.

Gill’s captaincy credentials rising fast

At 25, Shubman Gill has shown he can shoulder leadership without compromising his form. He led Gujarat Titans to the top of the IPL 2025 table and sits second in the Orange Cap race — strong indicators of his maturity and consistency.

On the eve of the Champions Trophy, Rohit Sharma had spoken about the team grooming Gill for a bigger role. Appointed vice-captain for the tournament, Gill lived up to expectations during India’s title-winning campaign. That performance, coupled with Rishabh Pant’s underwhelming leadership at Lucknow Super Giants, likely tilts the scale in Gill’s favour.

Young blood lined up to fill big shoes

While the captaincy seems to be a two-horse race — unless the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) springs a surprise — fans are equally eager to see who will step into the roles vacated by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Sai Sudharsan, the Gujarat opener, has been touted by Navjot Singh Sidhu as the best Indian batter in terms of technique since Sunil Gavaskar. Karun Nair, after a stellar domestic season, is also in contention for a comeback. Shardul Thakur could return as an all-round option after impressing in both the IPL and Ranji Trophy, while Anshul Khamboj has generated plenty of buzz.

India A hopefuls await their moment

The India A squad might yet feed into the Test team later in the series, giving players like Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Sarfaraz Khan a final window to break into the XI.

Probable Indian squad for England Test series:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Tanush Kotian, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Anshul Khamboj/Mohammed Siraj, and Dhruv Jurel/Ishan Kishan (second wicketkeeper).