New Delhi: During the first day of the third Test match being played between India and England at the legendary Lords Cricket Ground it was an unexpected change in the captaincy in the end session. Since both the captain Shubman Gill and vice captain Rishabh Pant were not present in the field senior player KL Rahul was appointed as the stand in captain and he led the team. Reason behind Shubman Gill’s absence still unknown While Rishabh Pant is confirmed to be suffering from a finger injury sustained while collecting a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah. The exact reason for Shubman Gills absence from the field remains unclear Shubman was appointed India’s full time Test captain ahead of the England tour and his unavailability in a crucial session raised many eyebrows. KL Rahul returns to leadership after a long gap KL Rahul who has previously captained India across all three formats was surprisingly called back into the leadership role for the final session. Rahul was overlooked for the captaincy role ahead of this tour and was not expected to return to the leadership group anytime soon. However with both the skipper and vice skipper off the field the experienced batter was given the responsibility to lead. Once Team Indias vice captain in all formats Rahul was once the full time vice captain of Team India across formats but lost his position during the home Test series against Australia in 2023. Despite being a regular in both the Test and ODI squads Rahul has been out of the T20I picture since the 2022 World Cup and has seen his leadership roles diminished gradually. Rahul unlikely to regain permanent captaincy role Team India seems to have moved on from KL Rahul as far as long term leadership is concerned. With the emergence of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant in leadership roles Rahul’s return as captain in this Test is seen more as a temporary measure rather than a sign of a comeback to the leadership group. Rishabh Pant down with finger injury and under medical supervision Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant sustained a finger injury during the first day’s play and is currently under the supervision of the BCCI medical team. The injury occurred while Pant was collecting a ball from Bumrah raising concerns about his fitness going into the rest of the match and the series. Dhruv Jurel keeps wickets in Rishabh Pants absence In Pant’s absence young wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel who is on tour as the backup keeper stepped up behind the stumps. Jurel has played only one Test so far which came against Australia in Perth where he featured as a specialist batter. If Pant fails to recover in time Jurel is expected to take over the gloves for the fourth Test as well.