New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India will huddle up to appoint a Test captain only after conclusion of the 2025 Indian Premier League.

The top post became vacant following the retirement of Rohit Sharma on Wednesday, a month before the start of five-match Test series in England from June 20.

Rohit was dropped from the fifth and final match of India’s five-match Border-Gavaskar series in Australia owing to poor form and was unlikely to have been picked for the England series.

With an eye on the long-term future that starts with a new World Test Championship cycle from the England series, top-order batter Shubman Gill has emerged as a primary candidate to be appointed the red-ball captain.

He has been deemed to be ahead in contention than Jasprit Bumrah, whose long history of injury issues goes against him to be a full-time choice.

But the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s vice president Rajiv Shukla said any decision would be taken only once the ongoing IPL gets completed.

“Nothing can be said right now. It is up to the selectors on who will be named the next Captain. Discussions will be done once the IPL is over,” Shukla told ANI.

Rohit’s dwindling scores in Test cricket put the pressure on him to take a call on his red-ball future. His poor returns with the bat in Australia made his position untenable in the Test team.

“Hello everyone I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format,” Rohit said on social media.

Commenting on Rohit’s decision, Shukla said: “Rohit Sharma has contributed a lot for the country. It is the policy of BCCI that if a player decides to retire, we never put pressure on them. It is his decision, and we welcome it.

“His test innings will always be remembered. There is a lot of cricket left in him. He will keep playing in the ODI matches and contribute to the country…”