Hyderabad:

Thus, the Indian selectors have a tough call on the appointment of India’s next Test captain. India are set to play Test series against England, West Indies and South Africa this year and so the leadership will play a vital role. Further, India will play an away series against England and so the captaincy in testing foreign conditions will be very important.

We take a look at the players who can take over the leadership role of the Indian Test team

India’s Test captain, Rohit Sharma retired from the Test cricket on Wednesday with immediate effect ending all speculations regarding his role in the series vs England. The 38-year-old was one of India’s elite Test batter amassing 4301 runs with an average of 40.57 in 67 Tests laced with 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries. As Rohit used to lead the Indian team in Test cricket, his retirement leaves the leadership role vacant.

Shubman Gill: Considered to be the frontrunner in the Indian team for the leadership role, Gill is one of the most technically sound batters in the Indian team. Gill is yet to lead India in Tests or ODIs, but he has captained the team in five T20Is leading them to four wins.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), he has been captaining Gujarat Titans since last season and has guided them to 13 wins and 10 defeats from 25 matches. A couple of matches ended in no result.

Rishabh Pant: The Indian wicketkeeper-batter has been consistently racking up runs for the national side in red-ball cricket. He has scored 2948 runs from 43 matches with an average of 2948. Also, his intent to score runs with aggression and his valuable inputs from behind the wickets would work in the favour of the leadership role.

Also, his captaincy record in IPL is quite impressive. He has a win percentage of 53.70 in the IPL.

Jasprit Bumrah: The Indian fast bowler has experience of captaining the Indian Test team and has also played a vice-captain of the Indian Test team. Although Bumrah's experience of captaincy is limited to only three matches, he is one of the vastly experienced members in the Indian side. Bumrah has led India in one Test against England where the team suffered a defeat while he has also captained the team in two T20Is where both the matches were won.

KL Rahul : Rahul is one the most experienced players in the Test squad and has already captained the Indian Test team. Also, he possesses the composure and an adaptability required at the top level. The right-handed batter captained the Indian Test team for the first time in January 2022 against South Africa.

Rahul has captained in 16 matches including three Tests. In three Tests, he captained against South Africa and Bangladesh where the team lost against the former but won two matches against the latter. In ODIs, India has won eight matches out of 12 so far and in T20Is, the 33-year-old has led India to one victory.

In the IPL, he has captained the teams in 64 matches leading them to 31 victories.

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