England tour may go either way, pressure on Gill but experience will help: Agarkar on transition

Mumbai: Transition was the buzzword as chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar spoke about the challenges that Shubman Gill will face as India's newest Test captain but insisted that the batting star has what it takes to revel in the "tough" role.

Agarkar announced an 18-member squad in which Rishabh Pant will be Gill's deputy for the five-Test rubber starting on June 20 in Leeds. It will be the country's first Test assignment after stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's retirements from the format.

"Whether it's a tough experience, or, we have a really good series, whichever way you look at it, it is going to be tough and experience can only help going forward," Agarkar said in the press conference to announce the squad here.

"At the moment, from what we're looking...be it franchise cricket, you can see that he's relishing the role. This is obviously going to be a lot harder. But those are the challenges you face playing international cricket," he added.

While both Kohli and Rohit pulled the plug in days leading up to the squad announcement, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had called it quits midway through the tour of Australia last year. Seamer Mohammed Shami was, however, not picked owing to his fitness issues.

Agarkar expressed confidence that the 25-year-old Gill is the one to take Indian Test side forward.

"It's a big job; it's a big transition. Two of your big players are retiring. But we're all confident that he's the guy to take us forward and hopefully, in time, that proves it. He's a terrific player and we're all very hopeful," Agarkar said.

"It's a massive transition. Rohit (had) been around for a while now. Before that, Virat (had) been around. It is the start of a new cycle and the experience can only help." Agarkar said Gill is in for a long haul as leader and his selection committee has full faith in his ability to rise to the challenge.

"You don't pick captains for one or two tours. You want to try and invest in something that's going to help us going forward. We were hoping that it's the right call. We've seen some progress over the course of the last year with him," he said.

"There's no doubt it is going to be as tough as it gets doing (the captaincy job in) a five-match series in England. Maybe he'll have to learn on the job a little bit, but we are very confident with what he has to offer and that is the reason we picked him," he explained.

"Captaincy can inspire him to do better"

The old adage goes that captains are expected to lead from the front and Gill, who has had his share of success and failures in Test cricket, will be expected to do the same. He averages a little over 35 after 32 Tests.

Agarkar said he doesn't want to read much into Gill's statistics so far.

"Everyone's going to be tested in England. I don't think any batsman is going to feel at home, like it was in Australia. These are tough places to tour. But we have the confidence that he's got the goods," he said.

"As far as his batting is concerned, from our side at least, there's no real issue. Hopefully, he can only do better as a captain." Agarkar said captaincy can be both a "burden" or a thing to be looked at "positively" but he expects the role to inspire Gill.

"You can look at it as a burden (or) you can look at it positively that it could inspire him to do better," he said.

"He's been around now for two or three years in all formats so that experience, I'm sure he can fall back on," Agarkar added.

And for times he would feel more challenged than usual, Agarkar said, Gill will always have help at hand starting with head coach Gautam Gambhir.

"There are guys around in the team. The coach is there to help him as well. I'm sure he's relishing the opportunity. Who wouldn't want to captain India in Test cricket? I'm sure he's looking at it positively with the chats that I've had," Agarkar said.

"And there will be pressure, there's no doubt. There won't be anyone away from it."

"Pant can help Gill with his experience"

Jasprit Bumrah was the choice for captaincy when Rohit wasn't available to lead in Australia but for the Agarkar-led selection panel, Pant was the ideal deputy for Gill once it became clear that the pacer won't play all five Tests in England.

"He's been one of the best batters in Test cricket over the last four-five years, I think. (He has played) 40-odd Tests, at the moment. Always (as a) wicketkeeper (he) can see the game well (from) behind the stumps," Agarkar said.

"(He) has got the experience at the moment. That's why he's Shubman's deputy and can help him out with all the experience that he's got.

"He's an incredible player. You're obviously looking at guys who can take the team forward over the next few years. At the moment, these two are the guys that we feel that can do that," he added.