After the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma pulled the plug on their extraordinary red ball careers, the BCCI named Shubman Gill as the new Test captain for the Indian cricket team. The announcement was made ahead of the five-match Test series against England, starting from June 20. The first question that emerged was whether BCCI jumped a little too early in giving Gill higher responsibility, but on the contrary, there were a few who found this decision right.
Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta spoke exclusively to CricXtasy and shared his thoughts on the current transition within the Indian cricket team.
“I don’t think so. I definitely don’t think so,” Dasgupta said. “Please don’t look at this decision in isolation. I think the context is extremely important. This is the start of a new WTC cycle. The team’s going through a transition period. There are a lot of young players. Ideally, you would have wanted somebody to be groomed in the last year or so, which unfortunately did not happen. But at the end of the day, you don’t have too many options. I mean, your first choice would have just been Jasprit Bumrah.
“But then, you know, thinking about workload…If somebody who might not end up playing all the Test matches or be there for all the Test matches, for a team going through a transition, it becomes a little difficult. If it had been a set team, I could have toyed around with the idea. Personally, I’m saying, you know, set team, set players, all settled side. Then you have someone like him and then groom a younger captain to look for a couple years. But then this is also a new side, a lot of new players. I agree with that decision. Take that leap of faith. Go with someone you think. These are all educated decisions”, Deep Dasgupta told CricXtasy.
The former Bengal captain also spoke about KL Rahul, as he was also one of the potential contenders for the designation of full-time Test captain of the Indian team. Citing the fact that he has been an integral part of the Indian setup, yet he has struggled to cement his place, Dasgupta questioned if Rahul’s batting position was locked in the first place.
“So in 10 years, how many Test matches has he [Rahul] played? He’s been around since 2014. He’s played 40-60 Test matches? We are talking about the Australia series, the first three Test matches, then what happened? Listen, let’s just look a little long term. Again, please keep in mind the context of where this Indian red-ball team is.
“It’s a new team, a young side, a new cycle, you’re looking forward. KL Rahul is an option. I’m not denying that he’s been around for a while. But first thing I want from KL Rahul is to cement his place and at least have one batting position. In 10 years, he’s batted from No.1 to No.6, almost every position you can think of. So, first things first, the team has to identify – is KL Rahul is a middle-order batter? an opener? yourNo.3 or No.4? Whatever it is. And please give him a fair go at it. If you think he’s an opener, let him open”, the former wicketkeeper added.
Veteran batter Karun Nair, who has been making headlines on the back of his terrific performance across formats, has also been named in the Indian team for the upcoming Test series against England. The last time he had a chance to play for the senior team, he made a triple century, and coincidentally that knock came against England itself back in 2016.
After nine long years, he is back, having not added much more to his India career. Dasgupta spoke about his chances of featuring in the playing XI.
“ I think there’s a good enough chance depending on the combination. Whether you want an extra bowler or an extra batter it depends on that. How much depth do you want in batting? I think he definitely has a fair chance. Deserve is a very big word, right? So again, let’s not go down that path. But yes, I think he’s in good nick. He got a double hundred in the first India A game. And he’s been scoring tons and tons of runs last year or so across formats, especially in red-ball. If the combination is such that you can play him, then absolutely yes.”
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has picked a relatively young side for the England series. The young batter Sai Sudarshan also secured his place in the Indian team. The crafty left-hander had a brilliant IPL 2025 campaign, scoring 759 runs across 15 matches for Gujarat Titans. He also won the Orange Cap and played a crucial role in Gujarat’s campaign.
“I think and I hope so, and then again, but please keep in mind a couple of very important issues. These are all very young players to a certain extent and inexperienced,” Dasgupta commented.
“We’re talking about batters and bowlers as well. We are going through a transition period in red-ball cricket. The next eight to 12 months maybe it will be a little bumpy ride, but as followers of Indian cricket and fans of Indian cricket, we have to be extremely patient, right? Let’s not forget what happened every time there is a transition. There is a phase a year or two years where the team might not win as much, but you’ve got to have faith with these young players, give them a longer rope and trust them, trust your selection, trust the players and their ability and stick with them and yes so bottom line is you got to be patient for the next eight months or a year and exciting times but could be bumpy as well.”
India’s premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, is set to play a key role in against the formidable English side. But again, there are questions around how many Test matches he might play as India look to manage his workload. In the squad announcement press conference, Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir had confirmed that he wouldn’t play more than three Tests on this tour.
“I mean, I’m extremely interested myself to figure out [which matches Bumrah will play], I think definitely he will play the first Test match,” Dasgupta said.
“The good bit is that there are longish breaks between Test matches, so that might help him manage his workload. But I hope it’s more than three Test matches. And definitely the first one in Headingley. Looking at conditions in the past, it has been seamer-friendly. Then you have two London Test matches, where especially Oval is generally batting-friendly. So it’s a trick call. How do you see Jasprit’s role in the side if he’s going to end up playing three Test matches? Do you play him in bowling friendly conditions, or do you play him in tougher conditions where you need that extraordinary bowler? And, you know, it’s going to be quite interesting, actually”, the cricketer turned commentator said.
Fans and cricket pundits were shocked after ace pacer Mohammed Shami failed to find a spot in the Indian team. The kind of bowler he has been over the years, the exclusion of Shami is a tough pill to swallow for India at the start of the new WTC cycle. There were talks going around that Shami is not fit to play the longer formats of the game, and that’s the reason he could not make it to the Indian team.
“Definitely, yes. I think Shami is a quality bowler, but unfortunately, post his injury, he hasn’t played much red ball cricket. His fitness is still a question mark. The last thing you want is as good as he is, is somebody to break down in the middle of a Test match. Plus, can you think about what would happen if Bumrah and Shami are playing, and something happens to one of them? So you’ve got to be reall,y really careful, you can’t have too many of the same kind, as good as he is. If Shami is 85 percent fit, even if he is not 100 percent fit, definitely yes. But unfortunately, I don’t think he is, and that is what I have heard. So it’s a big, big gamble if you’re taking somebody you really can’t you know trust their fitness”, the Bengal stalwart said.
Another notable exclusion from the Indian team was Shreyas Iyer. The middle-order batter was a mainstay in the white and red ball formats over the last few years until one sudden day he wasn’t. Since then, though, things have turned around. He has evolved both as a batter and a leader. Under his captaincy, the Punjab Kings managed to reach the IPL 2025 finals after a long 11 years. This was a year after he led KKR to the IPL title. Iyer is back with a BCCI contract too and the general consensus was that he would probably make the England Test tour as well. However, that didn’t quite materialise.
“I mean, if you think about it, Shreyas [Iyer], going into the finals third time, three different teams, three different setups, hopefully it says a lot about his leadership skills, but even as a batter, I think he’s reinvented himself as a batter in this format,” Dasgupta pointed out. “And he was absolutely brilliant leading from the front with the bat as well. Unfortunately, he didn’t get many runs in the finals. But yeah, I mean, it has been a really, really good season for Shreyas as well, and both from a leadership point of view and from a batting point of view.”
“But there are a few things when it comes to Test selection. Let’s just understand. I know one, different formats, and all of that. That’s a fair point. But the other important thing is, you know, we keep talking about why not this player? Can you please tell me who do you put him in place of? Please also give a solution. Just naming someone and stating he should have been there, it doesn’t work like that.
“It’s already a 17-member squad. Please name me one guy you would replace him with. Or do you increase squad strength to 18, then 19? Then where do you stop? Then why is Sarfaraz [Khan] not there? Add him also. So that’s 20, add someone else, why is you know maybe Anshul Kamboj or Mukesh Kumar should have been there, that’s 21, and this list will go on and on. If you want somebody on the side, fair enough, but then, in whose place? We all want to see him. We all want to see a lot of other players also. But at the end of the day, there are only limited spots.”
The former Indian cricketer also spoke about his bowling combinations for the first two Test matches against England. “Bumrah, Siraj, Prasidh, Jadeja, Nitish may be the other all-rounder and Kuldeep for sure. Jadeja’s record as a batter in Tests is phenomenal. So either you go in with a five-bowler option and play Karun in place of Nitish and have more batting and less bowling. Or you have Nitish, because he bowled in the first India A game as well, he bowled 15-16 overs, so you have him as your fourth seamer.”
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The likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their Test retirement just ahead of the England series. They have left a massive void which is nearly impossible to fill. Kohli hung up his boots after scoring 9230 runs from 123 Test matches, while Rohit made 4301 across 67 red-ball games.
“These guys are big names and there is a reason why they are big names, so yes, India will miss their services. But I think it’s just time to kind of understand the situation”, Dasgupta said.
“I think it’s a good, young, talented side. You have a lot of talent, a lot of potential there, and performances as well. But the moment you say replace Virat [Kohli], these players aren’t replaceable. They are irreplaceable. You could never replace a Sunil Gavaskar, you could never replace a Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, no matter how good the next generation is. What they’ve done for the team…there is a sense of immortality. Same with Virat, I mean, just to say that who would replace him is quite disrespectful. Virat is one of the greats that we have produced. And now somebody else will come in and make their own mark.”
Virat Kohli has kind of achieved everything in his illustrious cricketing career, be it winning the World Cup, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy, the stalwart has seen it all. The only title missing from his cabinet was the IPL trophy. After an 18-year-long wait, his dream came true when RCB lifted the IPL 2025 trophy after beating the PBKS in a thrilling grand finale.
“Oh, definitely yes. I mean, a tournament like this where you play 14 games plus one or two…it’s a long tournament. If you’re not consistent enough, you play at least once against every team. I think a tournament like this, if you don’t deserve it, you do not win,” he signed off.
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