3 players who can replace Rohit Sharma as the new India Test captain

It was a really shocker for the entire cricketing fraternity when Rohit Sharma suddenly announced his retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday (7 May, 2025). The legendary right-handed opener played his last match in the whites during the fourth Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. Interestingly, under Rohit's brilliant captaincy, India qualified for the ICC World Test Championship 2023 final, where unfortunately, they ended up losing at the hands of Australia. Rohit Sharma is definitely a celebrated name in Test cricket, having composed a wonderful tally of 4301 runs from as many as 67 matches at an average of 40.58 that includes a total 18 half-centuries and 12 hundreds. In this blog post, we will take a look at the top three players who can replace Rohit Sharma as the brand new India Test captain. 

Top 3 contenders in line to replace Rohit Sharma as the next India Test captain

1. Shubman Gill

Interestingly, India's young superstar Shubman Gill was handed over the India captaincy duties for the first time during the five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe where the visitors registered an impressive 4-1 series win. He was also the vice-captain of the India ODI team during their sensational triumph at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Therefore, he is currently being looked as the front-runner to be appointed as the brand new India captain in the longest format of the game. While talking about the next assignment, Team India will be touring England for a five-match Test series starting with the opening Test match from 20 June, 2025. On the other hand, while considering Shubman Gill stats in Test cricket so far, the right-hander has scored a total of 1893 runs from 32 Test matches at an average of 35.06 that includes as many as 7 half-centuries and 5 hundreds. It will be a really bold call by the national selectors if they choose to name the 25-year-old batter as the next India captain in Test cricket. 

2. Jasprit Bumrah

Under the captaincy of Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian team registered a phenomenal 294-run victory over Australia at their fortress in Perth during the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Overall, the right-arm fast bowler has led the national team in as many as three Test matches, out of which India has won just a single Test match. However, the major issue with Bumrah being announced as the India captain in the longer format is managing his workload due to him being too much prone to injury issues. While talking about Jasprit Bumrah stats in Test cricket, the pacer has managed to take a total of 205 wickets from as many as 45 Test matches at an average of 19.4 and a strike-rate of 42.1 that includes 13 five-wicket hauls. There could be a decision where the selectors name Jasprit Bumrah as the next Test captain with Shubman as his deputy for the England tour. 

3. Rishabh Pant

Before his massive car accident, it would have been the perfect decision to name wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant as the India captain in the longer format. However, while considering a few consistency issues, the national selectors went ahead with Rohit Sharma as the skipper who took over the reigns from Virat Kohli. Since making his Test debut in 2018, the southpaw wicket-keeper batter has smashed a fantastic total of 2948 runs from as many as 43 Test matches at a fine average of 42.11 that consists of 15 half-centuries and 6 hundreds. He was not at his best during the last Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, which raises major questions about him being considered for the captaincy role.