Rohit Sharma’s sudden decision to retire from Tests has left India cricket team racing against time to find his replacement as captain for the England series. With a little over a month left for the five-match Test series, the selectors are now cracking their heads on who should lead the team. Two options are reportedly being considered – Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. However, it would be wise for the team to have an experienced player at the helm rather than trying a youngster will relatively less experience as captain.
KL Rahul should lead India in England
KL Rahul emerges as a strong contender for Test captaincy – at least for the series against England. The cricketer is not only more experienced than Gill or Pant in terms of captaincy but has also led the Indian team in the past. In 2022, Rahul captained India on three occasions, two out of which India emerged victorious. He led the team in two Tests against Bangladesh and one against South Africa.
| Match | Result | Date |
| South Africa | SA won by 7 wickets | Jan 3-6, 2022 |
| Bangladesh | IND won by 188 runs | Dec 14-18, 2022 |
| Bangladesh | IND won by 3 wickets | Dec 22-25, 2022 |
Talking about Rahul’s stats while playing in England, the keeper-batter has 614 runs from 9 matches, and averages 34.11.
While we aren’t sure who “Mr Fixit” is exactly, Rahul is someone who can be used as a stop-gap arrangement for captain. As per reports, the selectors weren’t keen to hand over the reins to Rahul given his age. Understandably, they are looking for a long-term solution. With that being said, it would be wise to groom Gill or Pant for that role.
However, one ought to remember that no one would want Gill or Pant to suffer the same fate that Rohit did in Australia. That too, in their very first tour as captain and what marks the start of India’s World Test Championship campaign.
Talking about Gill’s form in England, he has only managed to score 88 runs from 6 innings. With an average of 14.66, the batter could very well use the upcoming series to amass more runs instead of being burdened with the role of captaincy.
As for Pant, he has a better record than Gill as a batter in England. The southpaw has 556 runs from 9 matches, and averages 32.70. However, Pant has tasted very little success as captain recently, with LSG’s run in IPL 2025 serving as the main indicator.
With the selectors unsure about handing captaincy to Bumrah (since he won’t play all 5 Tests), they could take a safe bet by using Rahul to lead the team for this series instead of taking a punt on Pant or Gill immediately.
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