Shubman Gill was elected as India's new Test skipper ahead of the five-match assignment against England which is set to commence from June 20. The 25-year-old was chosen as Rohit Sharma's successor and will be leading the Test side for the first time in his career.
Shubman Gill has previously lead India in the T20I format
Gill previously lead the T20I side in 2024 during a five-match series against Zimbabwe and has been the vice-captain in some other white-ball assignments. However, he has never been handed leadership duties in the longest format before.
Former India cricketer Saba Karim believes that the series against England will be an examination for Gill and he will have to take responsibility and perform well with the bat.
"This is an examination for him. I am sure he's ready and up for it. This is a big opportunity for him as a player. He needs to perform with the bat there, if he is able to do so then automatically his captaincy will also flourish," Karim told PTI.
"I do expect some good results from this young Indian side. The matches will really competitive and I think they are ready for it," he added.
Karim also heaped praise on Karun Nair, who scored a magnificent double-century against the England Lions on Saturday. He also stated that Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh, both of whom got their maiden Test call-ups ahead of the England series, will be the players to watch out for in the gruelling tour.
"Karun (Nair) played well, he now has experience. Sai seems to have grown in stature as an all-format cricketer. He is gaining experience now, I am excited to see how this combination does in England," Karim stated.
"He (Arshdeep) is a very talented seamer, the previous experience in England will help him and the conditions as well team had to look beyond Shami and I think they picked the right guy, excited to see him in action as well," he further said.
The Test series between India and England is set to mark the beginning of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, so it will definitely be of massive importance for both the teams.
India squad for the England series: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.