3 Indians Who Would Be Better Test Captains Than Shubman Gill

The sudden retirement of the long-time Indian Test captain, Rohit Sharma, leaves the selectors a huge decision to make before the upcoming five-match red-ball series in England. It will be the start of the fourth cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27.

Replacing someone as reliable and talented as Rohit will be incredibly difficult for the national side. However, they have a few quality options who could become the next red-ball leader. Recent reports have kept the name of Shubman Gill ahead for the future leadership.

Shubman Gill is ahead to lead India in future Tests

Once Rohit announced his retirement, most of the attention straightaway went to Shubman Gill to lead the Blue Brigade. The Punjab-born is the upcoming superstar of Indian cricket and has done a fabulous job in handling the team in the senior players’ absence.

Gill has also been the leader of the Gujarat Titans during the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League and has contributed with the bat in the opening position. However, his red-ball records are not promising enough to be the new leader.

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Shubman Gill has pocketed 1893 runs in 59 innings at an average of 35.05 and a strike rate of nearly 60. The right-handed batter has celebrated five centuries and seven half-centuries in the process, with the best score of 128 runs. Meanwhile, his record of 88 Test runs in six innings in England will make the selectors think twice before providing him with the responsibility.

Along with Rohit Sharma’s absence, Virat Kohli will also not be there for the series, which will create immense pressure on the batting line-up. Apart from Gill, there are a few better options who could lead the two-time WTC runners-up and have the youngster under their wings to grow for the next 15 months.

Here are the three Indian players who would be better than Shubman Gill

1. Jasprit Bumrah

India’s premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, is undoubtedly the best in the five-day format and can only prove his point, but many have addressed him as the best option to replace Rohit. On three occasions, he led the Blue Brigade; they won once and lost twice.

In 86 Test innings, the right-arm pacer has collected 205 wickets at an average of just below 20 and a strike rate of 42, celebrating seven four-wicket and 13 five-wicket hauls at the best bowling figure of 6/27 in an innings.

Bumrah stepped up in Rohit’s absence during the fifth Test in Sydney for the BGT 2024-25. The veteran could have been a better Test captain than Shubman Gill, but the question is whether his body would be able to stand up and tolerate the five-day format.

2. KL Rahul

Just like Bumrah, Rahul has also captained India in three games, and his record is a little better with two victories. Being a mature player in recent times, he has mostly shouldered the side in the recent past.

During the recent BGT 2024-25, Rahul was India’s second leading run-getter of the five games with 276 runs in 10 innings at an average of 30.66 and a strike rate of 50.09, thanks to two half-centuries with the best score of 84.

Also Read: Avneet Kaur Reacts To Virat Kohli’s Test Retirement With Flying Kiss Gesture

Rahul has also experienced captaincy in the IPL and can easily step up and perform the role better than Shubman Gill.

3. Shreyas Iyer

Not many have considered Shreyas Iyer as the next Test captain of India, but the 30-year-old has shown some incredible leadership over the last two IPL seasons, winning the IPL 2024 with the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Iyer’s record in red-ball is not phenomenal, with just 811 runs in 24 innings at an average of 36.86 and a strike rate of 63.01, thanks to five half-centuries and one century at the best score of 105 runs. The selectors dropped him from the side after the home series against England last year.

It won’t be easy for him to be back in the red-ball side, but if he does so, then he will be a better option than Shubman Gill to lead India.