Indian Cricket is expected to witness a new Test captain for the upcoming five-match Test series against England, which is scheduled to take place on June 20. The appointment of the new India Test captain came after Rohit Sharma decided to retire from the longest format of the game after he was removed from the captaincy.

Rohit Sharma announced his sudden retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday, May 7. The veteran Indian batter took to his Instagram story to inform about his decision to call it quits from red-ball cricket and asserted that he will continue to play in ODIs. Rohit has already retired from the T20Is after the T20 World Cup triumph last year and Suryakumar Yadav is currently leading the Team India in the shortest format. Rohit Sharma is likely to continue captaining India in ODIs,

With Rohit Sharma retired from Tests, India will see the emergence of a new-ball leader who will take the team forward in the longest format of the game. With selection of a new Test captain, India will have three different captains for all three formats of the game at the International level.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to reveal India’s new Test captain when they announce the squad for the Test series against England. As per the report by Cricbuzz, the press conference will be held for the squad announcement for the England series and at the same time, the BCCI will officially unveil the new Test captain who will lead India in the high-stakes five-match series starting June 20.

The press conference is likely to take place on May 23, but the venue for the press conference is not confirmed yet. The press conference for the squad announcements have taken place at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. However, it remains to be seen whether the BCCI will stick to its tradition of holding the press conference at the board’s headquarters or will choose the alternative.

Shubman Gill is reportedly a front-runner for the captaincy in the Test format. Jasprit Bumrah emerged as an ideal captaincy choice, given that he led Team India in fifth Test against England in 2022 and Perth Test against Australia in 2024, but he is unlikely to play all the five Tests against England due to injury concerns and workload management. KL Rahul is another candidate in the mix, having prior experience leading India in overseas Tests,

Meanwhile, the BCCI received a big setback as Team India star batter has reportedly communicated to the BCCI about his willingness to retire from Test Cricket. The decision came just a few days after Rohit Sharma moved on from red-ball ahead of India’s Test tour of England.

However, the board has urged the ace batter to reconsider his decision to retire from Test format. As per the report by Cricbuzz, the BCCI is expected to bring an influential and most respected figure in Indian cricket to convince Virat Kohli to continue playing Test cricket.

The report did not reveal the cricketer who might convince Kohli to play in the Test series against England, but many assume that it could be either MS Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar as both legendary figures share a close bond with Virat Kohli and hold immense influence and respect in Indian cricket circles. However, it remains to be seen whether Kohli will be available for the England Test tour.