The former English cricketer has denied the glory of captaincy to Shubman Gill and claimed that he is complacent and not yet ready to handle the captaincy of three formats. He has also made a lewd comment comparing him with former Indian captain Virat Kohli.
One of the most promising players of Indian youth and modern Indian cricket, Shubman Gill is often cited as the future of Indian cricket. The right-handed batsman has been named captain of the Test and ODI teams, and is in line for the T20I captaincy.
However, the former England spinner has a completely different view on handing over the captaincy to Gill in all three formats. The opinion is raw and factual, which may put pressure on the Indian selectors to reconsider their decision.
“Shubman Gill is a very complacent cricketer” – Monty Panesar
Recently, while speaking to ANI, former England spinner Monty Panesar, who has his ancestral roots in India, made some comments on the ‘Prince’ of Indian cricket, Shubman Gill.
The most stinging comment appeared to be his criticism of Gill’s personality, as he pointed out that the Indian captain is too complacent and therefore not ideal to handle the demands of captaincy in all three formats. Panesar observed that Gill played lazy shots at crucial moments, and did not have the intensity of Virat Kohli, one of India’s greatest Test captains.
Panesar told ANI, “He is a complacent cricketer. He has a lot of talent, but he starts playing lazy shots in the game. Virat Kohli’s intensity and aggression is evident in all formats. Shubman Gill cannot do that. There is too much burden for him. He cannot be the captain of all formats. It is too much for him.”
Panesar asks Gambhir to learn from Ranji Trophy coaches to correct red-ball mistakes
After criticizing Shubman Gill for his complacent nature, Panesar turned to Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir has been quite successful in limited overs cricket, even winning the ICC title within 6 months of his appointment, but has failed to maintain promotion in the longest format of the game.
Under Gambhir’s reign, one of the best Test teams in the world has suffered two crushing defeats on home soil, first by 3-0 to New Zealand in 2024 and then by 2-0 to South Africa in 2025. Panesar feels Gambhir still needs experience in red-ball coaching and should seek advice from coaches of Ranji teams.
The former England cricketer said, “He should talk to the coaches who have trained in Ranji Trophy about how you build a team in red-ball cricket. Right now, the Indian team is weak in Test cricket. That is the reality. It is not that strong. It will take time. When you retire three big players, it becomes difficult to keep the rest of the players ready.”
Shubman Gill will return as India captain against New Zealand
After missing the second Test and the entire ODI series against South Africa, Indian captain Shubman Gill, who has now recovered from his neck injury, will take charge of the team.
Before heading to the New Zealand ODI series starting January 11, Gill is likely to play for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. On returning to Punjab, he will pair with players like Abhishek Sharma.
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