As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) deliberates on the future of India’s Test captaincy, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has weighed in with a measured perspective, batting for KL Rahul over Shubman Gill.
With Rohit Sharma now retired from the Test format, the debate over his successor has intensified. Young batting sensation Shubman has emerged as a popular long-term candidate, but Bangar believes India should opt for a more experienced and assured option in the immediate future.
Bangar emphasised the importance of experience in leadership. While acknowledging Shubman Gill’s immense potential, he advocated for KL Rahul as the ideal choice for the role in the near term.
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Kl Rahul Over Shubman Gill: Sanjay Bangar Backs Experience for India’s Test Captaincy
Bangar, a respected voice in Indian cricket, highlighted the need for a captain who is experienced.
While Shubman, at 25, has shown immense promise with his recent leadership stint with the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025), Bangar believes his time will come later. Instead, he pointed to Rahul, a seasoned campaigner at 33, who has previously captained India in Test matches, including a notable stint in South Africa in 2022.
"You would be mistaken if you were thinking really long term. Gill’s quite young. He’s got loads of cricket ahead of him, and he would also have attained that self-belief in his ability by doing well overseas. So that is a challenge for him to be doing that on a consistent basis," Bangar said as quoted on ESPNcricinfo.
Rahul’s assured position as an opener, as per Bangar, and his tactical nous make him a compelling choice to guide India through the challenging World Test Championship 2025-27 (WTC) cycle, starting with the upcoming five-match Test series versus England.
"…he’s (Gill) your long-term prospect, no doubt. But whether you want to elevate him immediately, I don’t really think that there is a reason to do that because you have KL Rahul. He has captained India in the past when Virat gave up captaincy in South Africa. I think he captained one of the best matches, and he’s a guaranteed starter at the top of the order," he added.
Bangar wants India to groom Shubman and gain experience before getting appointed as India’s Test skipper.
"So that is the reason I believe that, yes, you can think long term after the next WTC cycle. By that time, I think Shubman Gill would have established his credentials in a much more solid way, and he would have plenty of experience behind him," Bangar opined.
Why KL Rahul is Unlikely to Become India’s Test Captain?
As per a PTI report, the BCCI is not looking at Rahul as a captaincy option because of his age and lack of consistency in Test cricket. He is already 33 years old and has done well only in patches in the red-ball format.
"It is understood that KL Rahul isn’t being considered as an option as he is already 33 plus and consistency has been an issue with the Bengaluru player even though he was one of the better performers in Australia," a PTI report stated.
Reportedly, Shubman is the front-runner to become India’s next Test skipper. It is highly likely that he gets to lead the side in the upcoming England Test series. Also, Jasprit Bumrah, who was India’s vice-captain in Test cricket very recently, and even captained the team in two Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 opted out of the captaincy race, citing workload management.
