KL Rahul Is Not Being Considered As India's New Test Captain Because...

KL Rahul Is Not Being Considered As India's New Test Captain Because...

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News18.com

Last Updated: May 11, 2025, 12:30 IST

KL Rahul has led the Indian men's cricket team in a total of three Test matches so far and managed to win two of them in 2022.

KL Rahul is not being considered as India Test captain after Rohit Sharma's retirement. (Picture Credit: AFP)

Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect on May 7. The 38-year-old right-handed batter from Mumbai, who led India in the five-day format of the game from 2022 to 2024, took to Instagram stories to share a photo post which read, “Hello everyone I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format."

After Rohit’s retirement, the Indian men’s cricket team will have a new captain for the upcoming five-match Test series against England that starts on June 20 in Leeds. According to reports, India’s Test vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah and top-order batter Shubman Gill are leading the race to succeed Rohit as captain.

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Some fans and experts of the game also feel that KL Rahul should captain the Test side. The 33-year-old right-handed batter from Karnataka has played over 50 Test matches for the Indian team since making his red-ball debut during the 2014-15 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and has also served as India’s stand-in captain in three Tests in 2022.

But according to a report in news agency PTI, Rahul is not in the race to become the new India Test captain.

“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," the report read.

In his more than 10-year-long Test career, Rahul has played 58 matches so far but could only manage to score 3257 runs with an average of 33.57. He has hammered eight centuries and 17 fifties in the traditional format of the game.

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In India’s last Test series against Australia, Rahul opened for India in four out of five Test matches and amassed a total of 276 runs in 10 innings. He scored 77 runs in the second innings of the Test series opener played at Optus Stadium in Perth from November 22 to 25 and made 84 runs in the first innings of the third Test played at The Gabba in Brisbane.

Rahul, who was last seen in action on May 8 for Delhi Capitals at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala against Punjab Kings, is, however, all set to be part of the Indian team for the upcoming tour of England and in all likelihood will play as an opener.

First Published: May 11, 2025, 12:23 IST

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