India will take on England in a five-match Test series from June 20, and this marks the start of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. Shubman Gill replaced Rohit Sharma as Test captain after Jasprit Bumrah informed the selectors that he would only be available for three or four out of the five Tests due to his injury and workload issues. Now, former India player Sunil Gavaskar has made a big statement regarding Gill’s appointment as a skipper.
In his column for Mid-Day, Sunil Gavaskar wrote that selectors only had Gill as the captain’s choice because the selfless fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah informed them that he would not be able to be a part of all the Tests because of his recent recovery from a back injury. According to Gavaskar, Gill will always depend on Bumrah’s leadership experience in England.
“Bumrah is a total team man and a selfless cricketer. He informed the selectors that he would be able to play in all the Tests due to a problem. It allowed them to appoint Gill as the new Test skipper. Bumrah’s words made the selectors’ job easier. Gill will rely on Bumarh’s suggestion, and the speedster will lead the bowling attack as India look to beat England in England,” Gavaskar wrote.
Gavaskar also mentioned that the Indian team for the England tour is well-balanced. However, he didn’t like the scheduling of the matches.
“The Indian team is balanced, and the BCCI can afford to send 18 players instead of 16 like other countries. They have six new-ball bowlers along with Nitish Kumar Reddy who can also be handy as a medium pacer. The tour is a cramped one with five Tests in six weeks so there will be a need for the net bowlers as the main bowlers would need rest after bowling in the back-to-back Test matches,” he added.
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