Shubman Gill was announced as the Test captain for India on Saturday after Rohit Sharma retired from the longest format of the game earlier in the month. From not being guaranteed selection for India in Tests till the last series against Australia to becoming the captain on the back of Rohit and Virat Kohli's retirement in red-ball cricket, the winds of fortune have reversed for the 25-year-old India batter. But, he would know more than anybody else that he will have his work cut out in England, given that it is one of the difficult places to win a Test, let alone a series.

Gill will have Rishabh Pant, who is his elected deputy for the tour to England, along with KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, for company, to form a formidable core in Tests, and their collective overall batting average, although on the rise, is still a tad short of the prolific four of Rohit, Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane - who carried India’s Test hopes for close to a decade. This is keeping in mind that maintaining a higher average for a prolonged period is much more challenging than for a short period.

Below is a statistical comparison: Old Guard (Core Four)

Player	Tests	Average
Virat Kohli	123	46.85
Rohit Sharma	67	40.57
Cheteshwar Pujara	103	43.60
Ajinkya Rahane	85	38.46
Kohli+Rohit+Pujara+Rahane (Weighted Average)	378	42.96

New Heroes (Core Four)

Player	Tests	Average
Shubman Gill	32	35.05
Rishabh Pant	43	42.11
KL Rahul	58	33.57
Yashasvi Jaiswal	19	52.88
Gill+Pant+Rahul+Jaiswal (Weighted Average)	152	38.72

**Weighted Sum (Avg × Tests)/Total Tests

While the sample size for the new heroes is nowhere close to the number of matches the prolific four have played collectively, the current core will get a lot of opportunities to improve their numbers in the coming years. The old guard still holds a slight edge in collective average, but the new generation — driven by Jaiswal’s exceptional early numbers and Pant’s consistency — is right on their heels, showing real promise for the future.

Gill's first major challenge as Test captain would start with the five-match series against England starting June 20, 2025. With the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Siraj in the ranks, India's bowling looks sorted for the time being. Whether the batters can live up to the expectations - that might just go on to decide which way the series will head.

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