New captain, new zeal, new era

The captain is 25; the youngest player is 22; and the average age of the Indian cricket team that will tour England next month is 27.4 years.Just for comparison, the last time India toured England for a full Test series in 2021, the team’s average age was around 29.

Shubman Gill, the captain who will lead India into the series next month was part of that team — and among its youngest members at 21. India has been on a path of transition for some time — the team that toured Australia in 2024-25 had an average age of 29.2 years (as a point of reference, the Australian team they faced had an average age of 32.5).

Everything indicates a brave choice by the selectors to step into the future — starting with the choice of Gill, a relative veteran in this team with 32 Tests and an average of around 35 (which is low for a top-order batter)