Mumbai, May 16 (Reporter) Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has endorsed Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant as frontrunners to take over the Indian Test captaincy, following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the longest format. Speaking to ICC portal, Shastri urged selectors to adopt a forward-looking approach and cautioned against burdening fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah with the pressures of leadership, citing his recent injury layoff. "For me, Jasprit would have been the obvious choice after Australia. But I don’t want Jasprit to be made captain and then you lose him as a bowler," Shastri said, referring to the pacer’s back injury that ruled him out for three months earlier this year, including the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. "He has to take his body one game at a time... And the last thing you want is pressure on his mind being captain as well," he added. Instead, Shastri pitched for 25-year-old Gill and 26-year-old Pant, both of whom have a decade of cricket ahead of them and IPL captaincy experience — with Gill leading Gujarat Titans and Pant captaining Lucknow Super Giants. "You groom somebody... Shubman’s looked very good. Give him the opportunity. There’s Rishabh as well. These two are the obvious ones I’m looking at because of their age," said the former India allrounder. Lauding Gill’s temperament and composure, Shastri dismissed concerns over the young batsman's performance in overseas conditions. "People talk he hasn’t scored overseas. I tell them, go check your own record. He’s a class player — he’ll get those runs eventually," Shastri asserted. Gill has already led India in a T20I series against Zimbabwe, where he topped the scoring charts with 170 runs, while Pant is currently recovering from injuries but remains a key figure in India’s plans across formats. With both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma having retired from Test cricket this year, the BCCI is expected to announce a new red-ball captain ahead of India's tour of England in June...////...