"Shubman knows how to lead a team" - Indian spinner backs Gill as captain ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 series

Team India's left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has backed Shubman Gill's choice as new Test captain for the upcoming series in England. The bowler asserted that Gill has had a lot of discussions with Rohit Sharma over the last year and must have learnt a lot from those chats.

India were forced to name a new Test captain after Rohit announced his retirement from the red-ball format last month following a disastrous tour of Australia. Apart from Rohit, Virat Kohli also announced his retirement from Test cricket in May.

There have been some apprehensions over Gill being named as India's new Test leader. The right-handed batter had a poor tour of Australia and does not possess an impressive record in the red-ball format away from home. However, speaking at a press conference on Sunday, June 15, Kuldeep threw his weight behind Gill.

"Shubman knows how to lead a team. He has worked under the seniors in the last couple of years. In the last one year, you'd have seen him in a lot of discussions with Rohit bhai - not only in Tests but even in ODIs. I'm sure he has learned a lot, but as a leader, from what I have seen so far, he's very motivated and he's been playing an active role in lifting the team," the Indian wrist spinner said.

"I have seen over the last three-four sessions that Shubman has the same qualities that I've seen in our previous leadership groups. He's fully ready to lead us," he went on to add.

Gill has led the Gujarat Titans (GT) franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the last two seasons. GT failed to reach the playoffs in 2024, but finished a credible third in the IPL 2025 season.

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"It seems like there will be good wickets for spinners" - Kuldeep Yadav on pitches for ENG vs IND 2025 series

While pitches in England traditionally favor seamers, Kuldeep believes that spinners would also come into play over the course of the five Tests. India are currently featuring in an intra-squad match in Beckenham and the spinner is happy to see some bounce for the slow bowlers. He asserted:

"It seems like there will be good wickets for spinners. The wicket for the practice match was good for batting. There was some light moisture on the first day, and the seamers got some help, but as the game went on, I felt there was some bounce for the spinners."

Team India will play their first Test match of the series against England at Headingley in Leeds starting Friday, June 20.