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Rohit Sharma's retirement from Test cricket has left a big void in the Indian team that needs to be filled before the side heads to England for the five-match Test series in June. Most importantly, BCCI needs to decide the player who will succeed Rohit as the Men in Blue's skipper in the longest format.
Shubman Gill is a candidate to become India's next Test captain
With the announcement yet to be made, speculations keep on rising as to who will be given the leadership role. One of the players who can be given the captaincy baton is Shubman Gill. The 25-year-old was named India's vice-captain last year for some white-ball series, however hasn't been given the leadership role in red-ball cricket in his career so far.
However, former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar opposed the idea of making Gill the Test captain, urging the selectors to give him two more years before handing him such a huge responsibility.
Bangar also named KL Rahul as the player, who he believes should be the successor to Rohit as India's skipper in the longest format. He pointed out that Rahul has captained the Men in Blue in the past and is a guaranteed starter at the top of the order.
"You would be mistaken if you were thinking really long term. Gill's quite young. He's got loads of cricket ahead of him, and he would also have attained that self-belief in his ability by doing well overseas. So that is a challenge for him to be doing that on a consistent basis. So he's your long-term prospect, no doubt," Bangar said on ESPNCricinfo.
"But whether you want to elevate him immediately, I don't really think that there is a reason to do that because you have a KL Rahul. He has captained India in the past when Virat gave up captaincy in South Africa. I think he captained one of the best matches, and he's a guaranteed starter at the top of the order. So that is the reason I believe that, yes, you can think long term after the next WTC cycle. By that time, I think Shubman Gill would have established his credentials in a much more solid way, and he would have plenty of experience behind him," Bangar added.
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Rohit and Virat Kohli's shock retirements from Test cricket have come up as a massive opportunity for the youngsters to cement their place in India's playing XI in Tests. The upcoming series against England has become quite important now as not only will a new captain get chosen before its commencement, but it is likely that new faces will be seen in India's playing XI throughout the five matches.
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