The Indian Test team is undergoing a major leadership transition as many seasoned players have left. Choosing a successor to lead the squad is the national selectors’ biggest task after Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin recently announced their retirement from the game’s longest format. The team’s favourite to captain them in the forthcoming five-match Test series against England is reportedly youthful Shubman Gill.

However, Gill’s lack of Test experience and leadership skills, particularly in foreign settings, have been cited by former India cricketer and 1983 World Cup champion Krishnamachari Srikkanth as reasons for criticising the choice.

Even in Test cricket, Gill is not a given. KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant should captain India if Jasprit Bumrah is unable to play, according to Srikkanth, who was quoted by Hindustan Times in an interview with The Times of India.

KL Rahul ought to be provided Srikkanth at position number four

Although the Punjab batsman has commanded India for a limited period of time in Twenty20 Internationals and led the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, his Test results have drawn attention. Gill hasn’t performed up to par since he was moved to No. 3 following Yashasvi Jaiswal’s debut.

He was subsequently dropped for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne after scoring just 93 runs at an average of 18.60 over five innings in the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He has also given lacklustre performances on other away tours, such as those in England, South Africa, and the West Indies.

Jasprit Bumrah, on the other hand, has proven to be a reliable player in the Test system and has lead India in two Test matches in BGT and England. Srikkanth thinks Bumrah would make a better leader in this stage. But if Bumrah is out due to injury, Srikkanth believes that KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant, who both have a lot of Test and leadership experience, should take over.

Speaking of India’s upcoming No. 4 in Test cricket, I believe KL Rahul ought to be assigned that spot. He could be crucial to India’s success in Test cricket in the future. He has the proper approach, and the management ought to assign him to that permanent position,” Srikkanth continued.