Succession: What next for India in Tests?

India's first assignment in the new World Test Championship is a series in the West Indies this July. By the time the two-year cycle culminates in the final at Lord's in 2025, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin will be 38; Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane 37; Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja 36; and Mohammed Shami 34. That's more than half of India's first XI in Tests.

Beyond how India manage the next two years with or without some of these players, there is a more pertinent question to be asked: do they have a succession plan to manage the transition that will inevitably come?

ESPNcricinfo looks at the big questions that whoever is in charge after this year's ODI World Cup - the coach, the captain, the selectors, the BCCI top brass and the senior players themselves - will have to face with regard to the Test team.

At some point this year, Kohli (8479 runs) is likely to become India's fourth-highest run-scorer in Test cricket, overtaking VVS Laxman (8781) and behind only Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar. Kohli needs 1521 runs to join the top three as the only Indians with 10,000 Test runs, and he could achieve that during the new WTC cycle, but do the decision-makers in Indian cricket know whether Kohli plans to play beyond 2025?

He had succeeded Tendulkar as India's No. 4 in 2013, having already shown the talent and temperament for the responsibility while making runs at No. 5. The situation is different now, though. Kohli doesn't have the No. 5 that Tendulkar had 10 years ago, with Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill tipped as the best options.

Shreyas, however, doesn't have the body of work in Test cricket yet, and he recently underwent back surgery, which will delay his Test return until India tour South Africa in December. There are whispers that some people in the team management are keen to move Gill to No. 4, but it remains to be seen whether they trial him in the middle order during the series in the West Indies. But first, it is pertinent to begin a conversation with Kohli to see if he intends to prolong his Test career by limiting his white-ball workloads.

That same question needs to be asked of Rohit, whose Test career has been stop-start because of selection and form in the early years and, more recently, fitness issues. As an all-format captain who opens the batting, Rohit's position is unique and all-important. Can he continue playing all formats or do the selectors believe he should focus on Tests and ODIs, which could prolong his career and give him time to groom his successors - both as captain and opener.

Hardik Pandya's success at Gujarat Titans has made him the frontrunner to replace Rohit as India's T20I captain, and possibly in ODIs too, if his body can handle the workloads of the 50-over format. The identity of India's next Test captain isn't as clear.

Before he suffered the car crash last December, Rishabh Pant would have been an option. Gill is a contender but he hasn't been stress-tested yet on overseas tours. There is also Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in the one-off Test at Edgbaston in 2022 and is understood to have strong captaincy ambitions. But he recently had a back surgery and it remains to be seen if he can cope with the workload of playing all three formats.

India need to identify a deputy who is young and can grow into becoming a long-term captain. Rohit needs to know what the BCCI and selectors think so he can plan the final phase of his career in a way that benefits the team.

At 29, Bumrah has a lot of good years ahead of him. Since missing the 2022 T20 World Cup, he has been eager to resume playing, but recurring problems with his back meant he had to undergo surgery in March.

Bumrah will be eased back into action so that he can play the ODI World Cup in October, as well as the T20 World Cup next summer, but what of Bumrah the Test bowler? Is it viable for him to shoulder workloads of all three formats? A 50-over Asia Cup precedes the ODI World Cup, which is immediately followed by a tour of South Africa for two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is, after which India host England for five Tests before IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.

The uncertainty is that even Bumrah doesn't know how his back will cope with the increasing workload. As a unique fast bowler with an unconventional action, Bumrah is crucial for India. It is important to know what he wants so that India can plan to get the best out of him.

Shami, in contrast, has been relatively injury-free but, at 32, the challenge for him is similar. He will be a key part of India's bowling line-up for the ODI and T20 World Cups, but if he is looked at as a Test specialist after that, it will allow him to stay fresh for that format for longer. James Anderson and Stuart Broad have shown they can be match-winners despite their age, but both were told clearly by the ECB they were going to be Test specialists.

Two good friends who are constantly under scrutiny despite being match-winners and match-savers. Both were dropped during the previous WTC cycle but fought their way back into the team by making lots of runs. They will most likely be on the flight to the Caribbean in July, but there are several young batters in domestic cricket waiting for their shot at Tests.

Abhimanyu Easwaran has been making top-order runs for India A, Bengal and in the Duleep Trophy for several years now. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan have scored heavily for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. Rajat Patidar's performance for Madhya Pradesh earned him a place in India A's middle order. Tilak Varma, who has played three red-ball matches for India A, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have shown enough promise for the longer format.

Two days prior to the WTC final against Australia, India head coach Rahul Dravid's advice for Rahane was to play as long as he keeps performing, something Pujara has been doing in county cricket. But young batters will need time and space and chances to fail, before India hit upon their middle order for the future.

Ashwin said recently he had feared that the home series against Australia earlier this year could be his last because of the knee pain he suffered on the tour of Bangladesh in December. He changed his action to give his knee some relief, and ended up being the joint Player of the Border-Gavaskar Series. The man who shared that award with him, Jadeja, had knee surgery last September and was unsure at one point whether he could handle bowling long spells in a Test match.

How much more do their bodies have in them? And what if India are suddenly without either of them in Test cricket? Other than Axar Patel, India have not played another spinner consistently. Kuldeep Yadav, Saurabh Kumar and Rahul Chahar have been part of the bench and India A tours in recent years, but are they the right bowlers to take India's rich spin legacy forward in Test cricket?