The BCCIon Saturday announced Shubman Gill as the new captain of the Indian Test team for the upcoming five-match Test series against England. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been named vice-captain.This comes after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin confirmed their retirement from the longest format. Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar addressed a press conference after the squad announcement. He confirmed that Virat Kohli had conveyed to the BCCI in April that he no longer wished to play Test cricket. “He has played for a long time. He felt he couldn’t give to Test cricket what he has so far. So we respected that. That’s why he wasn’t picked,” Agarkar said. Rohit Sharma, had also communicated his decision to step away from the format. “When we picked the squad, we got the information that Rohit was not going to continue. So it made our job easier,” Agarkar stated.
Asked why Jasprit Bumrah was not made captain despite leading in England earlier, Agarkar said, “Just trying to manage his workload. Five Test matches. Don’t want to burden him with other things.” Agarkar also confirmed KL Rahul’s return to the Test team but ruled out any leadership role for him. “KL has just returned. We didn’t really consider that. We felt Gill is the right guy.” The chairman explained the rationale behind naming Gill as captain. “We felt he is someone who can take the team forward. Every decision is a unanimous one when selectors sit. He has been with the team for a while. Every guy takes some time to settle.”
Agarkar clarified that the playing XI decisions will be left to the team management. “The team management will sit with the captain and coach and decide the playing XI. That’s how it should be.” Asked about the presence of multiple openers in the squad, including Jaiswal, Sudharsan, Easwaran and Gill, Agarkar responded: “Let the team management decide who plays where. There are a couple of options. Only 11 can play. Some players will miss out.” Agarkar also responded to a query on including Rishabh Pant as vice-captain despite his recent return. “He’s been with the team for a while. We felt it was the right time. There’s a lot of experience in the team.”Quiz: Who’s that IPL player? On Mohammed Shami’s absence, Agarkar said, “He’s not fit. He was part of the WTC final but then had a setback. The medical team has not cleared him. Workload is not where it should be. He will hopefully be back soon.” About the presence of multiple all-rounders, including Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy, Agarkar said, “There are five Tests, that’s why you need options. There are some India A performances. Some roles might be different. If you play one spinner or three seamers, you need backup.”
On whether this squad represents a transition, Agarkar remarked, “You don’t look at it that way. Some guys have made themselves unavailable. That’s why you have to move forward. Some of these guys have performed for India A or domestically. There’s no transition; this is the best squad we picked.” On the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav, Agarkar said, “We wanted two spinners. He’s been bowling well. If you’re going to play two, we felt Kuldeep and Jadeja are the two.” Regarding Karun Nair’s return, Agarkar said, “He has got runs in the last season. There are only so many slots in the middle order.” Agarkar said there was no communication gap with any player. “All the players have been informed. That’s how selection works. Some players will miss out. That doesn’t mean they’ve done anything wrong.” The full squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
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