Srikkanth says Gill not certainty in Checks, desires Bumrah as captain

Former Indian cricketer K Srikkanth has hit out at Shubman Gill amid reports claiming that he is likely to be Rohit Sharma’s successor in Tests. The Hitman took fans by surprise last week as he decided to abruptly retire from Tests, just before the England series. Reports claimed that the BCCI had zeroed in on Gill as the next Test captain and is expected to make the formal announcement on May 23 or 24.

Srikkanth returns to targeting Gill

As per Hindustan Times, Srikkanth claimed that Gill wasn’t even a certainty in Tests. He opined that Jasprit Bumrah should be given the captaincy. Further, he added that if the pacer wasn’t available, then KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant could lead the side.

“He (Gill) is not even a certainty in Test cricket. The captaincy should be given to Jasprit Bumrah, and if he is not fit or available for any match, then KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant should lead India,” Srikkanth said.

Srikkanth isn’t a stranger to being a strong critic of Gill. Back in January 2025, he called the batter “highly overrated” following his string of poor performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“I’ve always maintained that Shubman Gill is an overrated cricketer but nobody listened to me. He is a highly overrated cricketer. Gill is right now surviving because he gets ten chances and scores on the tenth chance after nine failures. And because of that, he is getting another ten chances to succeed,” Srikkanth said.

Meanwhile, Gill is all but confirmed to be the next Indian Test captain. Reports claimed that he had already met chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir to discuss the future roadmap. The selectors have reportedly decided against giving any leadership role to Bumrah since he is unlikely to play in all five Tests in the upcoming series against England.