Former skipper Anil Kumble has expressed reservations over the appointment of Shubman Gill as the Indian Test team’s captain and feels the youngster will have a “massive challenge” and first he has to establish himself as a batter in the side.

Also read: Shubman Gill named India Test captain

The BCCI selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, chose Gill as India’s Test captain after regular skipper Rohit Sharma retired from the format. And soon, Virat Kohli also followed him in quitting the five-day version of the game.

What Kumble said

Sharing his thoughts on the 25-year-old Gill’s elevation, Kumble questioned the selectors, stating that he did not feature in all five Tests in Australia in the recent tour. He added that he thought Jasprit Bumrah would take over from Rohit.

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

“It’s going to be a massive challenge. Initially, I thought Jasprit Bumrah would have been the automatic choice, but they must have a reason there. They would have probably spoken to him, and maybe Jasprit is now looking at taking a break between matches.

He felt that it was better not to be the captain. But the ideal choice would have been Jasprit,” Kumble, India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests, told sponne.

He added, “Now that the selectors have taken a call on Shubman, they’ll have to stick with him for a while. Because he needs that kind of leeway as well. First, he has to establish (himself) as a batter because even in Australia, he didn’t play all matches.”

‘He has a calm head’

Further, Kumble praised Gill for his calm head and spoke about him captaining the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL.

Also read: Jasprit Bumrah not available for all 5 Tests in England: Ajit Agarkar

“As a captain, he has certainly shown signs. Of course, it’s a very different format. He has a calm head. He’s done all the right things for GT in the last couple of seasons as a captain. So as a player, it hasn’t really affected him, at least in the white-ball formats. And to expect that to happen in Test matches as well – there won’t be any issues with his batting just because he is captain… it’s going to be a different team without the big boys Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and Ashwin as well.

The Indian team is going to look very different,” he said.

So far, Gill has played 32 Tests. And, his first assignment will start with the five-Test tour in England with the first game beginning on June 20.