Harbhajan Singh backs Shubman Gill as India’s Test captain ahead of England series

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed Shubman Gill as India’s new Test skipper ahead of the five-match Test series against England. The former off-spinner said Gill should be given a longer rope to prove his mettle as India’s Test captain.

Gill was appointed as India’s Test captain by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement. The 25-year-old recently led Gujarat Titans to IPL 2025 playoffs but he is going to have his work cut out as an Indian captain in the red-ball format.

Gill doesn’t have a great record while playing outside the subcontinent and he would look to lead from the front in his maiden series as captain.

Harbhajan Singh said as quoted by ANI, “Every captain has the capability to carry forward the legacy. Captains are not made in 1-2 months. You give some time to Gill, he will rise to the occasion, and you will see how capable he is as a captain. We have already seen him as a batter, that he is ‘Gill sahab the great'”.

“We hope that India does well once again on English soil. Best wishes to Shubman Gill and Team India. It is a young team but a ‘dum waali team’.”

On naming Gill as the new captain, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had earlier said, “We obviously discussed every option that’s there. Over the last year or so, we have looked at Shubman at various times, even when we played England last year, to take a lot of feedback, even in the dressing room as well.”

“Obviously, he is very young but you have seen the improvement – and I know it’s T20 cricket – for GT [Gujarat Titans] as well. We are hopeful we have picked the right guy. He’s a terrific player, and best wishes to him.”

The opening Test match between India and England will be played at Leeds, Headingley, from June 20 onwards.