Shubman Gill speaks his mind after being appointed as the India Test captain - WATCH VIDEO

BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar officially confirmed on Saturday (May 24) that Shubman Gill has been appointed as the new India captain in Test cricket and he will kickstart his tenure with the upcoming England vs India five-match Test series scheduled to begin from June 20. After former India captain Rohit Sharma announcing his sudden retirement from Test cricket, the duo of Gill and Jasprit Bumrah were the two possible candidates for the captaincy role. However, the selectors mentioned that keeping in mind the fast bowler's workload management issues, he won't be available for all the five Test matches in England, and thus, they did not wanted to stop-gap arrangement after which, Shubman was selected for the vacant position. 

Shubman Gill - The new India captain who will lead the challenge in Test cricket

Shubman Gill is currently leading the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (GT) where his team has already qualified for the playoffs. The Gujarat Titans are slotted at the top position on the IPL 2025 points table with a total of 9 wins from 13 matches and they will be aiming for a top-two finish. During a recent interview with the BCCI, Shubman spoke about being appointed as the India Test captain and mentioned that it is quite an honour and a huge responsibility to lead the national team in the longest format of the game. 

"As a young kid, when anyone starts playing cricket, they want to play for India. Not just cricket for India, but Test cricket for India for a very long time. To be able to get this opportunity is a great honour, and it is a big responsibility," said newly appointed India Test captain Shubman Gill in an interview. 

𝐀 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 ✨

Get ready to hear from #TeamIndia Test Captain Shubman Gill himself 🗣

Stay tuned for the full interview ⌛ @ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/zWVlFdMD61

— BCCI (@BCCI) May 25, 2025

While talking about Shubman Gill stats in Test cricket so far, the right-handed batter 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. He was also the vice-captain of the India ODI team during their sensational triumph at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Under his captaincy, India also registered an exceptional 4-1 T20I series victory in Zimbabwe. 

On the other hand, it is a really bold decision by the BCCI selectors to pick the 25-year-old as the Indian Test captain while considering his individual batting numbers especially in SENA countries. Incidentally, Shubman Gill has not played a lot of Test cricket in the English conditions. It will certainly be a huge challenge for him to prove himself both as a batter and captain in the upcoming England vs India five-match Test series.