Shubman Gill's new 'India'

Indian cricket team has embraced a generational change after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar has chosen 25-year-old Shubman Gill as the new test captain of the Indian cricket team.

Malayali Karun Nair is back in the team after an eight-year hiatus. New faces like Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Arshdeep Singh, along with youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel will be in the squad for the England tour.

It was Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in two Tests in Rohit's absence. However, the selectors zeroed in 25-year-old Gill for the big role after Bumrah apprised the selectors about his inability to play in all five matches in the upcoming England tour.

KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja have more experience than Gill but selectors had no qualms in giving the big responsibility to the young prodigy of the Indian team. Many factors influenced the decision.

• Bringing a new face to lead the Indian team.

• The decision is not just for the upcoming England tour. Selectors could have easily recalled Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane for the England tour but they chose to revamp the Indian line-up.

• Although Gill has not captained India in any other format except for the T20 series he led in the Zimbabwe tour last year, his excellent performance in all formats was an added advantage.

• Gill plays without any pressure which was reflected in the Gujarat Titans IPL season where they lifted the trophy.

• Great camaraderie with every player and an active part of the dressing room.

• Expected to take the team forward without any rifts.

Expecting the team to perform in the highest order after the retirement of legendary players is no mean task. Coach Gautam Gambhir responded to the issue prudently.

His words: “Virat and Rohit will no more be part of the game and that fact is saddening. However, on the other note, doors will be opened for more youngsters to get into the team. The future should be bright.”

Generational change is inevitable in any team. The excellence of the selectors and team management lies in handling it intelligently so that it does not affect the team's performance. Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni roped in many youngsters to the team who went on to become vital players in the squad.

This is an era of T20s and test cricket is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The team needs to put on some scintillating performances for the iconic format to survive in today’s age. May Gill and his team conquer new horizons.