Rohit Sharma became India’s Test captain in the year 2022 after Virat Kohli stepped down from the position. The BCCI appointed Sharma with a short-term vision of the 2023 World Test Championship Final. The 2023 WTC cycle has completed, and now India may appoint a new captain. Shubman Gill is one of the candidates in the race.
India will play six series from 2023 to 2025 – three at home and three at away. India should look at a new long-term option now just like they appointed Virat Kohli as captain in 2015. Shubman Gill can become that player. Here are three reasons why.
1. Shubman Gill has a permanent place in home and away lineups of Indian team
Shubman Gill is the only youngster who has a permanent place in the Indian cricket team’s playing XI irrespective of whether they play Test matches at home or overseas. Rishabh Pant is another player who fits in that category, but the wicket-keeper is injured and is recovering slowly.
In the mean time, BCCI can try out Gill as captain. The next series is against West Indies, and it will be the perfect opportunity to test Gill as the skipper.
2. Shubman Gill can receive support from seniors
Gill has formed good relationships with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the team. The two senior leaders can support him and help him make the decisions in the initial phases of his captaincy career. Even players like Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah can provide their inputs to Gill while they are still around. This could help the young player a lot.
3. Gill has captained seniors in the past as well
In case you didn’t know, Gill captained India ‘C’ team in the Deodhar Trophy 2019/20. Senior players like Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Mayank Agarwal and Dinesh Karthik played under Gill’s captaincy in that tournament, where India ‘C’ made it to the finals.
Pat Cummins, who led Australia to WTC 2023 trophy, had captained only in four domestic matches before becoming Australia’s captain. Even MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya did not have much experience before they became captains and won trophies. The same story can repeat with Gill.
