Shubman Gill has been appointed as the new captain of India’s Test cricket team Ricky Ponting. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes that Shubman Gill should bat at number four for India in Tests during the upcoming tour of England. The young batter was named the new skipper following Rohit Sharma’s retirement.
Gill will lead the Indian team in the next ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for 2025-27. His captaincy campaign will begin with the five-match Test series against England, starting on June 20. The series is scheduled to conclude in early August with the fifth Test at Kennington Oval in London.
Ricky Ponting: Last month, two key players—Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli—announced their retirements from Test cricket. Sharma was India’s regular opener, while Kohli typically batted at number four. As a result, the Indian team now faces the challenge of finding strong replacements for these crucial batting positions ahead of the upcoming Test series.
Ricky Ponting Explains Why Shubman Gill Should Bat at No. 4 for India
Shubman Gill has experience batting as an opener and at number three in Test matches. He might occupy one of these positions during the upcoming England series. However, Ricky Ponting feels Gill should bat at number four, as this would make captaincy duties easier for him.
“I think Sai Sudarshan and Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the batting because Sudarshan looks like a class player to me, and technically, I believe he could succeed at the Test level. With two promising young openers, India might prefer to have someone with more experience at number three,” Ponting told ICC Review.
“Ricky Ponting, That could be KL Rahul or Karun Nair at number three, and then Shubman might take the number four spot. This would likely make things easier for him as captain. Batting lower down the order might relieve some pressure compared to opening or batting at three as a young captain,” he added.
Gill displayed excellent form in the recent 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), finishing as the fourth-highest run-scorer with 650 runs. Under his captaincy, the Gujarat Titans made it to the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team has arrived in England and is preparing for the Test series. Some squad members are participating in the ongoing unofficial Test series against the England Lions. The visitors have also named their squad for the first Test, to be led by captain Ben Stokes.
