Shubman Gill as front-runner to lead new-look India in England
\n NEW DELHI
\nIndia cricket will enter an uncertain new era next week when selectors name a Test squad without all-time greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the first time in more than a decade.
\nBatting stalwarts Kohli and captain Rohit both retired from Tests in the past week, leaving Shubman Gill as the front-runner to lead a new-look India in England.
\nThe retirement last year of veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin leaves India without the backbone of the side that was formerly number one in the world Test rankings.
\nTop order batsman Gill is favourite to be given the task of starting India\u2019s rebuild with the five-Test England series which begins on June 20 at Headingley.
\n\u201cGill looks like the heir apparent, but his record overseas hasn\u2019t looked too great,\u201d veteran cricket journalist Ayaz Memon told AFP.
\nThe 25-year-old Gill has scored 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 in 32 Tests since his debut in 2020, with five hundreds.
\nBut in 13 Tests away from home his average is only 29.50.
\nGill is likely to move up the order to open alongside the 23-year-old Yahsavi Jaiswal, with the big-hitting Shreyas Iyer in the frame to replace Kohli at the fall of the second wicket.
\nOthers who could be charged with the almost impossible task of following in all-time great Kohli\u2019s footsteps are Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar and Dhruv Jurel.
\nWicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has also been mentioned as a future captain, but his current poor form and less-than-inspiring leadership of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL are counting against his immediate elevation.
\nLeading pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah was Rohit\u2019s deputy in Australia and led the team in two Tests, winning one, and was seen as another candidate for captain.
\nBut Bumrah has only recently returned to action after suffering a back injury during the final Test at Sydney in January.
\nThe five Tests in England are crammed into six weeks, meaning India will need to manage the workload of their pace attack by resting bowlers for one or more matches, effectively ruling Bumrah out of the captaincy debate.
\nTeam in transition
\nMemon, who called Kohli\u2019s retirement \u201ca big moment in Indian cricket\u201d, said there was enough strength in depth to fill the void left by Kohli, Rohit and Ashwin.
\n\u201cThere are senior pros like (Mohammed) Shami, if he is in form and selected, and (Ravindra) Jadeja,\u201d said Memon.
\n\u201cThe new crop of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, maybe Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj look good.
\n\u201cThey could be looking for a young spinner, maybe Washington Sundar because Ashwin is not there.\u201d
\nOff-spinner Ashwin called an abrupt halt to his international career after playing the second Test in Adelaide last year.
\nHe ended his career with 537 wickets in 106 matches, eighth on the all-time list and behind only Anil Kumble for India, who had 619 dismissals.
\nIndia\u2019s 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder Sandeep Patil believed the new-look India would come out stronger after a period of transition.
\n\u201cThe two stalwarts, the two pillars of Indian cricket have gone,\u201d Patil, who was chief selector when Kohli became captain in 2015, told The Times of India.
\n\u201cIt is time to rebuild. It will be a challenge for the national selectors, but I am sure we will find a solution.
\n\u201cIf one player exits, the next one is ready.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shubman Gill as front-runner to lead new-look India in England NEW DELHI India cricket will enter an uncertain new era next week when selectors name a Test squad without all-time greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the first time in more than a decade. Batting stalwarts Kohli and captain Rohit both retired from Tests […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-478218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n