"You don't select captain for one or two series," says Ajit Agarkar as Shubman Gill set to lead Indian team in tests

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] May 24 (ANI): Chairman of India Men's Senior Selection Committee Ajit Agarkar announced India squad for the highly anticipated five-match Test series against England on Saturday in Mumbai.
Shubman Gill has been appointed as India's new Test captain, and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will serve as his deputy in the longest format.
Agarkar emphasised that a captain is not selected for one or two series and long-term planning has to be kept in mind while making such calls.
"You don't select a captain for one or two series, you have to plan for the longer term. We are hopeful that he [Shubman Gill] will learn with time," Ajit Agarkar said in a press conference.
Agarkar also reflected on slot number 4 in the Indian batting order, he said, " Shubhman and Gautam Gambhir might take a call on the number 4 in the batting order. I can not give the batting order from here. Unfortunately, Mohamed Sami is not available right now for fitness reasons."
At 25, Gill has become one of the youngest players to hold the position in recent years. Though he lacks captaincy experience in the red-ball format, he has led India in a five-match T20I assignment in Zimbabwe in 2024. Gill has also been captaining the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.
Gill has also been serving as vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is. He was Rohit Sharma's deputy in india's victorious Champions Trophy campaign in the UAE in February 2025. In Test cricket, Gill has played 32 matches and scored 1,893 runs, including five centuries.
India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav. (ANI)