A former Indian selector has confirmed that the BCCI has considered Shubman Gill as India’s only option as captain across all formats from 2023. The right-handed batsman is the Test and ODI captain and is the most likely contender for T20I captaincy after Suryakumar Yadav.
When Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format at the start of this WTC cycle, Shubman Gill took over as India’s Test captain in England. After a promising series, he was promoted as India’s next ODI captain on the tour of Australia.
Gill recently missed the ODI series against South Africa after getting injured during the Test series. Talented wicketkeeper batsman KL Rahul replaced him as the acting captain and led India to its first ODI bilateral win since the ICC Champions Trophy win.
Shubman Gill is being considered as the captain of all formats from 2023.
Former BCCI selector Salil Ankola has revealed that BCCI had always considered Shubman Gill as an option for captaincy, and coincidentally, he also made his T20I debut in 2023, and hence, he started being considered as a captaincy option in all formats for the future.
Speaking on Vicky Lalwani’s YouTube channel, Ankola said, “We had always thought that Gill would become the captain. We had considered his name for the role since 2023, confident that he would take the reins in his hands. The selectors take suggestions not only from the coach and the captain but also from other senior players. They also feel that he is the right person, even those who had retired earlier.”
“It’s a collective decision. Everyone felt it, and he proved it in England. What a series he had! Under such pressure, if he scored 750 in England, it shows his mental capacity. People will say someone else should have been made captain or someone should have been brought back. Humans are very insatiable souls. Whatever good you do, they will find something bad in it. People think they know everything.”
Shubman should consolidate his position at the top of the T20I lineup
The 26-year-old cricketer is making a comeback in the shortest format of the game for India after missing the ODI and Test series against the same opponent. He has come out of NCA after recovering from neck spasm.
On Gill’s return, Irfan Pathan said, “Shubman Gill should cement his place at the top of the order in T20 cricket. We believe in players across all formats. We have seen how well he plays in the IPL. Now, he has a chance to cement his place in India’s T20 International team.”
According to Pathan, he performs very well in the shorter formats, especially in the IPL, and hence, the former all-rounder feels that pitches with reasonable bounce and pace would be ideal for Gill.
India started T20 match with a spectacular win in Cuttack
India won the first T20 match against South Africa in Cuttack on the basis of brilliant performance with the ball. Indian batsmen continued to struggle in the batting innings; Vice-captain Shubman Gill and captain Suryakumar Yadav were out early.
Even players like Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Verma failed to anchor the Indian innings; It wasn’t until Hardik Pandya stepped in for India that runs started coming easily. By playing an inning of 59 runs in 28 balls, he defeated the Protea spinners and then the fast bowlers.
Then, with the ball, India won the match as every bowler found themselves between the wickets. Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel took 2 wickets each, while Shivam Dubey and Hardik Pandya, the two all-rounders, took one wicket each with the ball.
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